The tsunami disaster in asia has now claimed an incomprehensible 114,000 lives.

Our friend Cameron at Architecture for Humanity has launched a reconstruction appeal in tandem with WorldChanging.org.

On December 26th, a series of earthquakes occurred in the area of the western coast of Northern Sumatra, Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands. The two strongest earthquakes had the magnitude of 8.9 and 7.3. The earthquakes caused tsunamis impacting nine countries in the region leaving more than 100,000+ dead and a further 1M forced from their homes. Over 10 countries are affected as far away as Somalia and Kenya with Aceh province in Indonesia and Sri Lanka said to be worst hit.

In response Architecture for Humanity and Worldchanging.com launched a reconstruction appeal. We set an intial target for rebuilding of $15,000 (enough to build a dozen homes, 2 schools or one mobile medical clinic). As of 11pm on December 29th we have reached $14,300 from 220 donors.

This fund is specifically to deal with rebuilding issues and we are speaking with local partners in the region which are focusing on the reconstruction process. Much like our previous response in Bam, Iran and Grenada, we work with groups who employ local labor and utilize construction techniques. By working those affected this keeps funds within the community and creates micro-economies for those trying to get out of this disaster. We have found this to be the most cost-effective way of rebuilding.

We are currently assembling local-based design and construction teams to work with carefully vetted relief groups. We are also refining a set of criteria for design/build work that will include employing local labor and construction techniques as well as economic and environmental sustainability.

As with all our disaster relief operations we are committed to zero overhead/admin. costs (everyone is donating their services and time and AFH is covering admin. costs) and directing 100% of funds towards the appeal.

Thursday, 12.30.04 will the the very last night for the Detroit Art Space. Send off this legendary and beloved venue in style with:

Misty
Tamion 12 Inch
Awesome Color

"Come out and rock."

10pm
101 E. Baltimore
313.664.0445

don't panic

In case you've numbed out on world news, Iraq continues to be a huge fucking mess with no end in sight. The current civilian body count is somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000. The current US military death toll is 1,299. War is fun, eh?

New treats for the eyes and ears from the other Untitled.

+ more eye and brain candy from Cozytone #10.

Mr. Joshua Glazer gave me a very nice Christmas gift last night in the form of a test printing of next month's URB Magazine. Dorkwave's 15 minutes are upon us apparently. Not only does Interpol's Carlos Dengler grace the cover and a lovely seven page spread, (and one of the snapshots from October's Dorkpol event accompanies Scott Sterling's bon mot diatribe about the death and resurrection of dance music - including an uber-flattering nod to our dorky shenanigans on page 23) Dorkwave is cited in the 5th Annual MASSV Contributor's Poll as "favorite new trend". Hot damn! And to think we just started doing this to entertain ourselves... We certainly know better than to let it get to our heads though. (There are also very nice mentions of Ghostly International and the club Oslo in Detroit.) In the mean time, here's a excerpt from the Carlos interview:

Scott Sterling: I heard a lot about the DJ gig you played recently in Detroit with the Dorkwave crew.

Carlos D: That was one of the most fun gigs I've done so far. That party was so fucking ghetto I can't even tell you. People were spilling beer on my records and the mixer, they were skipping the records by jumping up and down because the platform wasn't properly supporting the turntables. In fact, at one point some dude ruined one of my most prized 12-inches, which was "White Horse" by Laid Back, by accidentally spilling candle wax on it. The record started skipping as it was playing, and I was like, "What the fuck?" because I always keep it in such good condition. Then I looked and there were hardened puddles of wax that the needle was jumping over. I just said to myself, "This is why I took this fucking gig and why I've been telling my DJ booking agent to get me a gig in Detroit." I was dying to spin there and I love that city, that vibe - the whole fucked-up, ghetto-y, down-home it's all a party and who gives a shit anyway attitude. That's why that party was fun. I'm always going to be into the hot, sweaty, sloppy shit - always.

[It does actually take a ton of planning to facilitate just the right ambiance of chaos.]

The rest of the interview is brilliant, but it would take me all afternoon to transcribe the whole thing. Watch for the January/February issue of URB on newsstands soon.

14 minutes to go.

...and we still owe Carlos a copy of White Horse.

Chad Kern...I will be in Portland 12/28 and 12/29. I would love to see you. I have no way of getting in touch with you. Please advise.

Candycane wishes and sugarplum kisses from Ghostly, Blackbx and Burnlab... tonight.

Although there were some *ahem* different perspectives about artwork, Apples and Synthesizers is certainly one of my favorite albums of 2004, and quite possibly one of the best electro albums ever produced. If you're STILL looking for that perfect Christmas gift for the special robot in your life, you really can't go wrong here. Jason Amm delivers a full hour of analog bliss and pop brilliance on this LP. Along with instant Solvent classics like My Radio and For You, Think Like Us is the best Skinny Puppy song Skinny Puppy never made... and extremely popular with both Dorkwave and our German friends Alter Ego.

Started this post Thursdy, but my Red Van pulled up before I could finish and had to get to the airport.

So yeah, submited my first ever ballot to the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Awards. Actually starting to feel like maybe this life style of trying to push good music on others is working a tiny bit. I'd love to share my votes with y'all, but I think it'll have to wait until the BIG awards - that's Burnlab Best of '04 - come on up.

And everyone should vote for the Plug Awards

And speaking of career opportunities, got i nice xmas present in the form of a promotion at ye old URB mag on thursday. So look for me with an extra self-satisfied smirk out in Detroit this holiday season.

This really makes me miss Brooklyn.

Much love to Voltage.

Merry Christmas to all.



Scared of Santa

[via DataWhat?]


Hope to see all of the Detroit ex-pat gang at Oslo this Sunday night for the UNTITLED anniversary party. Especially these kids:




...and everyone, as you digest your roast beast and Who-hash this weekend, please think hard and send along your lists for Review 04 to mike@burnlab.net, along with your personal info as you'd like it published.

cheers

LCD Soundsystem player

hotness.

LCD Soundsystem and DFA honcho James Murphy graces the cover of January's edition of The Wire. Go here for the complete interview.

Also see this Pitchfork article about the upcoming LCD Soundsystem full length from earlier in the year. If you just can't wait (and don't work for, say, All Music Guide or a public radio station,) Pure Groove has a few double vinyl promos in stock.

What's in your iPod today?

After a grueling 90+ minute commute, I loaded up the following (along with a giant cup of green tea) to calm my nerves:

taylor deupree- live at tonic (sub rosa)
oren ambarchi- grapes from the estate (touch UK)
jan jelinek- loop finding jazz records (~scape)
pole- 1 (kiff sm)
max richter- blue notebooks (fat cat)
flashpapr-flashpapr (ypsilanti)

Slsk, purchase or listen if you can. All are highly suggested for bleak winter days.

Chris, be happy you're not here. We're under a blanket of snow and the wind is blowing very harsh drifts at the moment.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled misery.

love the l.i.t photos...but i admit confusion in that, while staying in lovely barcelona over xmas for the first time, i feel strangely depressed to not be able to hang out in detroit. what is happening??!!! could it be that the detroit contingent of burnlab is actually achieving a new and better detroit?! (stay tuned to this webpage for developments).

The Bambi might be a bit much for the Saab to tow. Don't worry though, there's always the Saab Toppola.

From Mr. Paul Martin: the extraordinary electronic art of Jim Campbell. The Memory Works are especially elegant.

From our good friend Chad in Portland: Jesus was more goth than you - the proof.

Man, I am so going to hell.

Photos are now online from Saturday's edition of Les Infants Terribles. Huge thanks to Liz and Clark, to Tom, Nicole and the crew at Corktown Tavern, and to Rudy and Allen for getting everything set up early for the first time ever. (And an extra thanks to Allen for the all dorkwave anthem tag-team set early in the evening.) Amazingly enough, nothing got broken this time. Speaking of, where was Sam Consiglio?

Canadians are so great it's hard to pick a favorite, but this week Marc Houle is the best, for a lot of reasons. Buy his new record on Minus so he can afford the airfare to New York (and tunnel fare to Detroit) more often.

While perusing Fortune Magazine's product design awards, I totally fell for the Airstream Bambi. How cute is that? If the Saab can tow it, that solves my housing dilemma... and oh so minimalist.

Chris Daniels' new title is officially "Classics Editor".

(and thank you.)

as usual i find my comments being more in the ancient history side than in the newest-of-the-new category, but i finally watched donnie darko and, more than anything, was amazed that it didnt garner more praise. its mix of "american beauty" suburban criticism with a nightmarish vision altogether new and challenging -yet beautiful- was possibly too refined and scandal-free to the "scream"-loving audiences it may have attracted.

and, more importantly, i wish the best for our illustrious burnlab founder in his new and difficult designs on life. lovely solutions and beautiful designs might make us all happy but what mike has gone through brings life, in its heartbreaks and confusion, to the uncomfortably but beautifully tenuous position it battles to enjoy.

Lots of hot news at Cranbrookdesign.com, including an article on The Interventionists exhibit at Mass MoCA in PAGE Magazine, Cranbrook 3D-design artist in residence Scott Klinker's Spaceframe Building Toy named one of the top products of the year by Fortune Magazine, and a construction update on the Royal Ontario Museum by Studio Lebiskind.

As mentioned previously, I give the other editors here at the Lab a lot of grief for Blogging under the influence, so I may delete this later under wiser circumstances. If you're looking for design links, skip along to the next post please.

I spent several hours on the phone tonight with one of the finest friends anyone could hope to have, the always wonderful Professor Theakston, my number one partner in schemes Jon Ozias, and the lady who's been keeping me sane the past several weeks. I don't want to turn this into some kind of Live Journal type post, but if anyone cares, I feel obliged to list the reasons I may have been cryptic or symbolic and manic with posting over that past five or six weeks.

1) Getting divorced always sucks, but it's as amicable as possible, and I'm totally excited that Mrs. D will be able to make her mark on the world in her own way. Shannon is a truly amazing person who gets all my love and support in all her ventures.

2) Having to move right now is a particular pain in the ass (and completely unrelated to item one,) but definitely in the best interest of everyone. Ferndale, here I come... if all goes as planned.

3) Anyone who has been involved in the Detroit Auto Show knows this is the crunch time, plus I've taken on additional make or break responsibilities in my career. Work is at the most intense point its been in recent memory - which I'm doing my best to focus on in context of everything else. The opportunities to work with people such Emin and Ivana at Clear Magazine and Beverly Tang are nothing short of extraordinary.

4) I know I've developed a reputation as a bit of an instigator of people behaving in an overly revelrous manner, which is a responsibility I vow to stick to as cofounder of Dorkwave, but have pulled back from in a significant way as far as direct participation. Time to grow up (the other 30 days of each month at least...)

5) Something about being emotionally open.

6) I'm currently co-curating one of the most exciting art exhibits Detroit has seen in some time with Burnlab and CAID conspirator Andy Malone. 'The Other Auto Show' will be opening in tandem with the NAIAS, and will feature the broadest spectrum of Detroit artists possibly ever seen, including Brian Kritzman, Tyree Guyton, Mark Dancey, Ron Zakrin and many more well established and up-and-coming artists interpreting automobile culture in the Motor City. The exhibit open January 15 (my birthday)... stay tuned for details.

7) Connecting with the second great love of my life, after knowing her for twelve years, is simultaneously totally unexpected, strange, and as perfect and wonderful as could be imagined.

Back your normally scheduled program.

cheers

a few Heatherwick links:
Icon Magazine
Please Keep Off the Glass
Folding Bridge
B of the Bang

Fire destroys B-52's 'Love Shack'

(Like five people in the world will get the reference, but this is ironic beyond expression.)

i was in london last week and was made aware of a sculpture, by thomas heatherwick, that graces the foyer of the wellcome trust headquarters on euston st. i couldnt find a website with pictures but the sculpture is derived from a form originally achieved by pouring molten metal into a block of ice. the figure was then digitally scanned, blown up, and represented through glass beads suspended by cables...and all of this in a 6-story space

just listening to pj harvey as i write this..."rid of me" is so fucking intense it should have had suge knight begging to sign pj as a backup singer for tupac. if she would´ve commited suicide she might have gotten the respect and credit she deserves as being as good a rock songwriter as kurt cobain, albeit with less self pity...no disrespect to nirvana but pj had at least as much angst and talent and she was and is a "she"...is there a precedent for that? should the first female rock artist with the balls of kurt cobain be relegated to second tier status?? listen to "rub ´til it bleeds" (start at 3:25 for full impact) on "rid of me" and tell me that that song isn´t at least, if not more, ballsy than any song ever written by nirvana...led zeppelin would´ve shit their pants hearing a girl fuck rock n roll this extreme

The excellent NYC electro blog Voltage presents their download of the week
Afrika Bambaataa with Gary Numan: "Metal"

The best electroclash took '80s styles - like new wave and electrofunk - and mixed them up in ways that no one thought of doing back in the '80s. This track is a literal embodiment of that principle: the godfather of hip-hop meets the original new wave humanoid. The quote from "Heart of Glass" is cute but gratuitous; the clunky rap by MC Chatterbox should have been cut. Otherwise, Numan's quavering robotics and Bambaataa's beats (more solid than ever) have been welded together almost seamlessly.

Totally agreed. Brilliant at moments and uncomfortably cheesy at others.

[Thanks Maxx, er, I mean Maximus.]

This is quite possibly the worst thing ever.

"Big thanks" to Enrique at Paper Bag for sharing the pain. Any more crap like that in my inbox and we're boycotting Toronto! ;)

Here is an interview with our other favorite musical couple from Detroit that I rediscovered while perusing the archives. This was done in 1999, and still rings quite relevant. If you're feeling really nostalgic, scroll down for my amusing review of the first Electroclash Festival, posted Oct. 15 | 01 and see Don Downie's review of the Disco Nouveau party that really blew everything up for Blackbx, Ghostly International and the Detroit electro scene we feel really fortunate to be part of in our own weird capacity.

On the subject of vintage Burnlab, its unfortunate Engram never really took off as intended, after coming extremely close to several large projects that included a biotechnology learning center in Singapore, and the interior of the Surface Hotel, that recently opened as the Hotel on Rivington. (It's hard to compete with Zaha Hadid and Marcel Wanders.) As I've discovered though, unexpected opportunities can eclipse even the most brilliant plans.

Our old friend Thomas Trimble of American Mars informs us of the 3rd Annual Detroit Sounds and Spirits Holiday Spectacular. The line-up is an amazing assortment of beloved acquaintances and some of the hottest of the hot from Detroit's rock'n'roll scene.
The particulars:

What: Holiday Spectacular - great bands, a good cause (COTS), and lots of comic idiocy
When: Thursday, December 23 at 8pm
Where: The Magic Stick
Who: The Dirtbombs, The Paybacks, Brendan Benson, Outrageous Cherry, Rosie Thomas, The Volebeats, The Sirens, The Fondas, Pas/Cal, The Hentchmen, Waxwings, The Come Ons, Blanche, Thunderbirds Are Now!, The Holy Fire, His Name Is Alive, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Jawbone, and American Mars.
How Much: $15, 18+

If you prefer bleeps over guitars, don't forget that this Friday night is Ghostly International Presents... at Oslo with your handsome host Ryan Elliot and very special guest Mr. John Selway. Brought to you by Ghostly and Soft Curls.



...if you like bleeps AND guitars, don't forget about the most overcooked party in town this Saturday, where we straddle the line between dance music academia and total chaos with Detroit's favorite DJ couple, while scenes collide in a haze of art school hipsters and analog synthesizers. Truly a night of Shakespearean proportions and extraordinary music that promises to both inform and delight. And its free!

I know I give our editors a lot of grief for blogging drunk, but it's good stuff when Core77 co-founder Eric Ludlum does it... click.

Marius - that's been posted here before, but certainly worthy of another look. So cyberpunk it makes me want to get that bar code tattoo I've been talking about for years...

Oh, and I forgot my cell phone again this morning.
Desk line if you need me: 248.276.7954

Stunning pictures of Tokyo's water routing system, more alien than Alien, more concrete than Toyo Ito, more cyberpunk than... er... nevermind.

and topping my list this year



2 track 12" EP, 13 mins duration, 124-154 bpm.
Written & Produced by Richard D. James.
Black 12" vinyl disc with two centre labels.
180g Audiophile Vinyl Pressing.
Packaged in custom binder with pockets to hold several editions from the "Analord" series.

https://www.rephlex.com/analord10.php

FOX Blocker: I finally know what to get the whole family for christmas.

[thanks to Steve at Core77]

And for the front lawn, should I put in a nice carp pond or have Herzog design a museum for my private collection?

Our exhibitions are proof of the autonomy of art, of its creative strength and its ability to show us the world in a way we would never have imagined possible. The Goetz Collection feels duty bound to plead for the openness of our perceptions and the constant correction of our thoughts and views through contemporary art.

The current set of video installations from Doug Aitken are stunning. The Goetz collection is open daily by appointment, but I found standing out front and pleading to be equally effective.

This Saturday.



(Can you believe only a month has passed? I can't.)

For shoegazers who may not know yet, Swervedriver dot com has posted the band's four albums in the form of high quality live recordings to download for free. Golden.

Thanks to both Professor Theakston and David DeRoches for the info. (Also, David is seeking an original copy of Raise. Contact him through the Effigy Studios link above if you have one you can part with.)

The kooky Anti-Drum Machine guy was out again all day on Sunday in front of Amoeba records on Sunset in LA. He's the leader of the "Society for the Rehumanization of American Music". He was a nice enough guy, he even let me take his picture with my phone (which baffled him), even after showing him my bagful of synthetic delights. If you've got something to say about his anti-rhythm box position, he invites you to contact him directly at (323) 732-6160. He has no e-mail.

You Are Beautiful is a simple, powerful statement which is incorporated into the over absorption of mass media and lifestyles that are wrapped in consumer culture.

http://you-are-beautiful.com

Burnlab Review 04 Call For Submissions

It's that time of year again to start thinking about the very best of the past 12 months. Review 03 is one of our most popular features, and we'd like to continue the tradition. This time I'm inviting not only the fine editorial staff here at the Lab and a select few guest taste-makers, but am opening it up to all regular Burnlab readers. You're the ones on the edge of the new and purveyors of the inspiring, and we'd love to have your art, design, music and culture best of lists for 2004. Think hard and pass them along with your personal information to mike@burnlab.net

Strange Request. I am trying to find someone to give a few (5 or so) basic lessons in Photoshop to my Dad for Christmas. He is pretty knowledgable on the computer and a quick learner. It need only be the basics. Cropping, Color Correction, Working with Scanned Images, Simple Layering, etc. I would prefer to pay someone who could use some extra cash rather than send him to a continuing education or far too complex college level course. If anyone knows of anyone who may be interested please get in touch with me. My Dad, for those who don't know him, is a lovely gent who lives in Berkley and is a Dentist. Please help if you can. Sourcing gifts like this from Brooklyn is a pain.

i am interested to see what tim burton does with wonka after finally making another good movie with "big fish". i am personally a bit tired of johnny depp and i think ewan mcgregor was what made the last movie different. but ultimately, can anyone actually imagine a new version beating the tripped-out wickedness of the original? heres to trying

and another notch on my nostalgia belt, the punk/rock/funk of girls against boys, with, for me their best album, cerca 1994, "cruise yourself" on touch and go. i looked them up on amazon and their "if you like..." recommendations included iggy pop, ac/dc, broken social scene, and mark lanegan. not to say that amazon is the end all and be all but those are some pretty fucking impressive and divergent groups to be compared to.

i have finally decided to leave the pop/downtempo/lounge band misnoma that i´ve been with on and off for 4 years to follow other avenues, but anyone open to well-produced downtempo pop check out the website. before i decided to leave we just finished an ep, "club 13". 3 songs that range from chillout to triphop, with me on beats and effects

now on to quinqui....

Our friends at Paper Bag Records in Toronto send this [not so] little video to cheer up your afternoon: click

Wonka trailer!

PTW Architects' design for the National Swimming Center in Beijing, known as The Watercube, is one of the most extraordinary buildings I've seen in a long time - even more so than the elegant olympic stadium by Herzog + DeMeuron (pictured top.)

"It appears random and playful like a natural system, yet is mathematically very rigorous and repetitious. The transparency of water, with the mystery of the bubble system, engages those both inside and out of the structure to consider their own experiences with water", said PTW Director Andrew Frost.

The building's skin, made from an innovative and lightweight transparent 'teflon', abbreviated as etfe, has been designed to react specifically to lighting and projection - and particularly the advanced systems which will become available in the coming four years - to create a stunning visual and sensory experience that will also be shared by millions of television viewers around the world. this state-of-the-art material provides a cost effective cladding solution for modern architecture, enabling a wide range of applications where traditional materials, such as glass, may not be possible.


More images at Archinect.

Hot off our good friend Benny's Mac for your pleasure, the December edition of The Galactica is now online. The best issue yet for this always inspiring web-zine. Full of shoegazey rock, erotica and artwork that touches Burnlab's sensitive side. (Chris Daniels, you will love this.) There is substance in Los Angeles.

On a completely unrelated and unusually personal note, I feel obliged to inform anyone who knows us but hasn't heard in person yet that Mrs. D and I are parting ways in a completely amicable manner. If you do know us and require details, you know how to contact me.

Unfortunately I will not be in Lost Angeles this coming week, due to the unpredictable nature of the exhibit design industry. I also just found out that I have to move by January 31, due to a scuffle with my micro-managing landlord over (of all things) frequency of picking up dog poop. I was under the (apparently false) assumption that once a day was acceptable. Perhaps if my dogs were as anal retentive as my landlord, there wouldn't be an issue. Fucking great.

sorry to continue on my nostalgia trip but i´ve been listening to my first love, cocteau twins. besides being one of the best, most unsung groups of the 80´s they, in my opinion, started the dreampop/shoegazer movement that spawned such greats as ride, curve, lush, verve, and ultimately my bloody valentine. for the uninitiated check out (if you can find it) the minimal/dub ep, "otherness", that was remixed by mark clifford of seefeel fame, or go way back and check out "pink opaque", "garlands", or more recently "blue bell knoll" or "heaven or las vegas". liz fraser, one of the most original vocalists in recent years, was said to have sung in basically gibberish until the last few discs...ella and sarah vaughn would´ve been proud

and, who remembers space rock darlings jessamine? still amazing...check out their second "the long arm of coincidence". i promise to stop the nostalgia soon

In the City of Angels, when it rains it pours (figuatively and literally). And it'll be pouring this Saturday...



8pm: The Lab 101



12am: Dorkpol west-coast style



2am: Dearswak (ok- not really a good name) with an extra helping of Detroit expate on the line-up.


And of course our fearless leader will be making a guest appearance.

Kid Robot and Visionaire have teamed up to produce Issue 44: Toys featuring 10 original Visionaire toys customized by 10 fashion designers. Contributing designers include Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Donatella Versace, Hedi Slimane, Miuccia Prada, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Louis Dumas for Hermes, Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, and Viktor & Rolf. The issue is released as two sets of five toys; each set contains photos of all 10 characters in an accordion-fold catalog along with a set of accesories including a toy cell phone, martini glass, and camera that the characters can hold.

This sounds more interesting than it is: the 100 oldest registered domain names

um...

This seems so long ago, I almost forgot about it. (Hmm... I still play most of those records.)

If it's not obvious, Googling yourself is a major indicator of procrastination.

it may have something to do with me earlier seeing (in the movie theater) the shockingly bad "national treasure" with nicholas cage, but i just finished watching "the chronicles of riddick" on dvd with (yes!) vin diesel. and, i have to say i thought latter was surprisingly good. with a comicbook/achyles/gladiator-type hero, very original set design (falling somewhere between ancient greek ("troy"), otherworldly ("dune"), and ("star wars") science fiction) and a plotline sufficiently-enough entertaining, i think it may have gotten attention if someone like ridley scott would have directed it. at the very least an entertaining and well-crafted movie from an unexpected source

oh and allen, i seriously feel your pain as well my son. i have trouble admitting this but i am posting this on my old g3 because my g4 is in the shop, awaiting its fait after i dumped a half can of beer into it. i too backed up nothing, including a handfull of new tracks that would have shaken the music world (i think that is true although if i never get anything back from my harddrive the world might never know). stay strong, stay *****

EVERY day is Cher day.

Allen - sorry about the PowerBook. I know the pain, but please fix the HTML in your post!

As far as "share day" goes... don't tempt me. Call me later though. (That goes for everyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about yet.)

Reline updates with a big tease for the Reline2 DVD (which, by the way, is going to be sick.)

Breathing Chaos at Telic

Breathing Chaos is a new installation work by media artist Sachiko Kodama. A small, black mountain at the center of the gallery grows organically in the glow of many small candles. The heat of the surrounding candles let the mountain move as if it were a living thing, as if it were breathing, shining there in the light. This strange pointed mountain is however, made up of competely inorganic matter; it is a fluid formed by ferro magnetic micro-powder dissolved in a solvent; and it is designed to transform, creating a very sensitive chaos.

[thanks Nix!]

Harvard's 2004 Ig Nobel award winners. Top honor in medicine goes to Wayne State co-authored research paper "The Effect of Country Music on Suicide". Top honor in engineering goes to the man who patented the comb-over.

Goudron is the best. Ron, seriously, when are you getting your gear fixed?

Currently loving the art of Aaron Kraten.

On the subject of beauty and machines:

Our very own Marius Watz presents System_C for the Electrohype Biennial.



System_C is a time-based drawing machine, a self-organizing software system for the creation of rule-based images. Several autonomous agents move over a surface, making marks as they move, seen by visitors to the Electrohype exhibition as a realtime two-screen projection.

Some physicists define glass not as a solid but rather as a slow-moving liquid, so viscous that we cannot observe its movement. System_C draws its images slowly enough to be perceived as nearly static, yet is in reality in a process of slow development. In all, over 360 images will be produced during the 8 weeks Electrohype is running.

The drawing process is modelled on a simple kinetic system. Each agent has a speed and direction that both smoothly change for every step. When the speed or rate of rotation exceeds the minimum or maximum constraints, they start reversing so that their values tend toward the other extreme, causing a subtle oscillation between values over time. Different values for the constraints result in visually different but recognizably related images.

Each image takes an hour to complete. Once an image is done, the surface is cleared, the drawing system is set to a randomized initial state and the drawing process starts over. The images that are created are saved and uploaded to the web every few minutes so that online users can observe the most recent activity. All completed images are saved with a time stamp indicating the time of their creation. An archive documents the whole period of the exhibition.

There is a god.

Nice work.

We all saw it coming, but I never thought it would be this bad: Voltage reports dance-rock jumps the shark.

....mainstream trance type Paul Van Dyk admitted being blown away by the decidedly un-trance like new style of fellow superstar DJ Sasha.

"It wasn't anything like the sort of sound I'd seen him spin the last time I'd caught one of his sets," said Van Dyk (writing in his latest column in Mixmag). "He was kind of playing rock music but it was actually really cool."

:P

The silver lining is less shitty trance I guess.

Get it while its relevant.

(Thanks to the Metro Times for the choice pick by the way!)

The Unofficial Coachella 2005 Line-Up

April 30
David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Coldplay, PJ Harvey, Interpol, The Faint, Franz Ferdinand, Polyphonic Spree, Boards of Canada, TV On the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Squarepusher, Clinic, French Kicks, Secret Machines, Phoenix, Beep Beep, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Death From Above 1979, and The Helio Sequence

May 1
R.E.M., Tears For Fears, Wilco, Bright Eyes, Jimmy Eat World, Mos Def, Badly Drawn Boy, The Streets, Cake, The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, Rilo Kiley, Radio 4, Doves, Iron and Wine, The Arcade Fire, and Moving Units


On Monday, I happen to meet with both the Coachella promoters and Tom Windish. Lemme just say- buy your tickets, book your hotels, or just start walking.

The cure for the LA lameness blues.

Football and architecture, Swiss style.

[via Archinect]

sorry to be only posting about old albums recently but fall has made me a bit nostaligic. just listening to dean wareham and his post-galaxy 500 band luna, who are reportedly calling it quits after 7 albums. "pup tent" and "penthouse" are my favorites...a beautiful mix of pop and post-velvet underground rock

iPod U2 vs. Negativland Special Edition

In 1991, the experimental sound collage band Negativland released a single called "U2", which extensively sampled both U2's hit single "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and colorful studio recordings of Top 40 disc jockey Casey Kasem. This offbeat recording would have languished in obscurity if weren't for Island Records, U2's record label, which decided to sue Negativland and their independent label SST Records for deceptive packaging and copyright infringement. After a protracted legal battle, Negativland's legal funds were exhausted and they settled out of court. Today, it is illegal to produce the "U2" single in the United States. (U2, on the other hand, would go on to use unauthorized samples of appropriated satellite video in their Zoo TV tour.)

Now you can commemorate this ignoble episode in intellectual property history with iPod U2 vs. Negativland Special Edition. From its packaging to its pre-installed content, this unauthorized iPod modification is an artful mash-up of the forces of corporate megarock and obscure experimental music, and a provocative symbol of the ongoing struggle between those who would confine culture and those who would free it.

Hotness!

[many thanks to Eric at Core77]

i might have mentioned him before but one of the greatest jazz men was rahsaan roland kirk, blinded at age two, a man who later had a dream about playing three saxophones at the same time (which he did) and went on to play 40 instruments and perfected circular breathing, a technique which allowed him virtually unlimited solo time due to not having to take a breath...a true genius

another genius, al green, is actually criminally website-free on a google search. most know him for his "let´s stay together" track from tarantino´s "pulp fiction" but his music and voice cover much more territory than soul ballads. check out his "al green greatest hits" on the right stuff records. proof that they don´t make vocalists like they used to

DJ Hell presents Bavarian Gigalo Night at Die Registratur. I'm going just to find out if umpah and lederhosen are involved.

ph3ar t3h cub3

Lagerfeld is the man.

Don't try to compete. Just stand back and let him happen.

Just when I didn't think I could love Vice Magazine any more...

Fellow purveyors of the finest in art, design and music Atmosphere have just done an extensive and quite handsome site redesign. Check out all the goodies.

Oh my.

Until the official illustrated compendium is complete, here are some more good tips. Also see Robot Dancing for Commies and, well, there's this.

Today's wisdom: Although it may sound like a good idea at the time, listening to the Smiths doesn't make things better.

LA considers sandblasting Disney Concert Hall

[thanks Alex]

The Go! Team are happy fun. This is their new video.
This is my song of the month. Thank you.

butter: the silent killer.

Phonetard.

I forgot my cell phone at home this morning, which you all know is about the most helpless feeling in the world. Hit me on e-mail or the old fashioned office line if you need to: 248.276.7954 (no solicitors, please.) Singing telegram is also a valid option.

i've given up on the hope of being the first kid on the block to get one...

so i thought i'd pass it on

OMGz0rz!1

Bidule 0.7 in the house

midi feedback support
better midi learn mode for all bidules/plugins
support for 7-bits relatives and 14-bits absolute midi cc

s3x!

It's like a fat guy in a tee shirt doing all the singing...

View the new LCD Soundsystem video here.

Our favorite fur hat wearing, Smiths playing, furniture smashing, cross dressing mad scientist, Sam Consiglio reminds us of the following:

Sunday November 28th

Les Georges Leningrad and Tamion 12 Inch
with UVU and Genders

Detroit Art Space
101 E. Baltimore, Detroit MI (duh)

(This will be the first proper Tamion show in over five months!)

I am so there.
(I expect at least Allen to be as well.)

Too much turkey + not enough sleep + good snuggling = coma.

hey, i have been trying to work on my own music while listening to and comparing it to existing stuff. i am currently listening to dabrye (aka tadd mullinix) and his one/three album and it intimidates the shit out of me. how am i supposed to beat something that came out 3 years ago and still fucks evrything up? i live in the town where prefuse 73 (scott herren) lives but dabrye still kicks the shit out of the brother...my only comfort is in that tadd is a fellow michigander

It's okay to look this serious when you've been named "one of the 250 people who will change the future" by i-D Magazine. SV4: nicein' em up and taking names since 1999.

More big time accolades for the Ghostly International camp, including XLR8R Magazine's Artist of the Year for Matthew Dear, and Label of the Year from URB Magazine.

Champagne in Ann Arbor hard earned and much deserved.

I'm hoping for a Mike Servito/Ellen Allien tag team set by the end of tonight. That would be the awesomest.

We might as well just set up camp at Oslo...

Work off that tofurkey sashimi (joking) Thursday night with the un-scruffy 2/3 of RUN STOP RESTORE and Clark Warner. Too much goodness. Details and discussion here.

Amen Chris. December of 1992(93?): I had my very first fake ID and I used it to go see Swervedriver downtown. There was this other band opening called Smashing Pumpkins. They were okay. I also think Daisy Chainsaw played that night.

"Rave Down" was one of the hardest songs I learned on guitar that year, and Swervedriver shall always hold a special place in my heart.

ok, i am feeling a bit nostalgic...for all lovers of shoegazers and classic rock at the same very time: were swervedriver not one of the most criminally overlooked bands? i still remember seeing them in ann arbor and being completely blown away. all the beauty of the shoegazers with all the balls of late 70´s rock (they came too late and left too soon)

thanks for mentioning lebbeus woods mike. he was a hero during my time at ccs, both in terms of his architectural work and his esthetic style. he was and is an artist in the world of architects (i unfortunately couldn´t find another suitable web link...architects are so often poorly represented in the linked-liked world). it is true that an artist is increasingly an anomolous beauty in the world of design

Installation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Gates to begin next week in Central Park.

The Gates, as they are called, will be festooned with saffron-colored fabric panels and will line 23 miles of pedestrian paths from Feb. 12 to 27. They are being made in Queens and are nearly finished. The artists say they have been working on the project for 20 years.
-NY Times

More images here. (Between Christo and Lebbeus, colored pencil kicks the ass of computer rendering any day of the week. Long live drawing.)

$28,000 grilled cheese sandwich.

Remember: Florida is a red state.

The first official proof of my recent Barcelona excursion. Not sure why it cuts off about two sentances before the end.

8 hours until I take off for Detroit. This headcold should making flying the red-eye a blast.

More construction images of the de Young museum at Archinect.

Photos of Tokyo's massive water routing system

[via Core77, via boing-boing]

shape-shifting robots

John Kerry is back on the scene and comes out swingin'. This may not be over yet!

Twangers.

Oh my.

Baaaaaaaaaaaad Robot...



Plexus. Tonight. Robots. Cafe Deville. New York City. Details.


+ Bad Robot Haiku

Mrs. Doyle and I are attending the Governor's Awards for Arts and Culture ceremony tonight with Jon Ozias. Derrick, Kevin and Juan are being honored for their "innovative contributions to the global music scene." There are much worse ways to spend an evening than seeing these guys get some respect while schmoozing with democrats and art patrons.

Jon O is DJ'ing.

This should be a totally interesting night all around.

This Saturday evening is the grand opening event for Effigy Studios in Ferndale Michigan. Effigy is a gorgeous new state of the art recording space. There will be refreshments aplenty and entertainment from The Dollfaces and Team Dorkwave! Come on by and check it out.

Studio Release Party
Effigy Studios
803 Vester
Ferndale MI
(9 Mile Rd. and Hilton)

8pm - ??

Food and drink by Christine's Cuisine
Live music in the Studio by The Dollfaces
Recorded music in the Event Space by Team Dorkwave





Effigy is the latest addition to a community of recording studios in Ferndale, including 54 Sound, FBT, Tempermill Studios, Rustbelt Studios and Soup Can Studios.  The interior was designed by Van Tine | Guthrie architects of Northville and acoustician Dave Prince.

This Friday night offers two chances to see some of your favorite Ghostly/Spectral acts in two of your favorite cities: Todd Osborn and Ryan Elliott will be kicking off a new DJ series at Detroit's Oslo, while Dykehouse supports indie legend Bob Mould at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. Details:

Ghostly International Presents

The inaugural edition of a new monthly event at Oslo featuring the friends and family of Ghostly International, occurring every third Friday.

Todd Osborn - Ghostly/ Spectral, Ann Arbor
Ryan Elliott - Ghostly/ Spectral, Detroit (resident)

In association with Soft Curls

Oslo
1456 Woodward, Detroit MI
10pm to 4am | 21+ | $5


BOB MOULD with special guest DYKEHOUSE

Mould was a founding member of the immensely influential 80s band Husker Du, whose sound led the way for the alternative rock movement of the 90s; since then he has done numerous solo albums, apart from his work with Sugar, and this show offers a unique opportunity to catch him doing a solo acoustic set. Ghostly's master of shoegaze, Dykehouse, supports.

The Blind Pig
208 S. First St., Ann Arbor MI
9:30pm | $15 | 18+

Resturants i plan on hitting while in Detroit next week...

Lafayette Coney Island
Bread Basket
WAB
Soupersonic (is that still open?)
Checker Grill
Sweetwater Tavern
China Ruby
La Shish
Mon Jin Lau


all this- and some turkey! good thing i'll be around for a whole week.

What could be better than a new album by Thomas Fehlmann? How about a new album by Thomas Fehlmann featuring Dabrye.

And as long as I'm in a gushing about music mood, the new mix by Andrew Weatherall is the cat's pajamas. And the new DVD from Blur reminds me of the days when dumpy british girls with bowl haircuts and XXL white t-shirts were the hottest thing going. Glastonbury anyone?

Oh- and a certain magazine is running a subscription special. Get it now, and you should be in time to recieve your first issue with a certan jackboot wearing, bass-playing, dorkpol djing gentleman on the cover.

Ghostly International now has photos up from UNTITLED:Reckless in NYC. (I don't know why I'm wearing a Yankees hat.) If you missed it, more photos here. (If you were wondering, Sam is indeed only offering Osborne mints.)

Trendy relationship type for '05: torridly platonic*

*the new way to say how much you appreciate your friends while sounding simultaneously smart and risque, without using sappy words. It'll catch on. Just watch.


Burnlab: reinventing your vocabulary since 1997.

The Persuaders

[this one's for Jon O, via Nix]

Chris -
I believe this is what you mean. Classic!

(please don't drink and blog.)

if i could i would but i just don´t know how, that being to post how borders in birmingham rates our dearest matthew dear..can you help mike?? (it´s on a cd i left with you!) it´s a classic

Just in time for the holidays: hand-made ceramics and font-based warapping paper from Emigre.

Core77 surveys Value Meal: Design and (over)Eating, an exhibition featuring such Burnlab favorites as John Maeda, Scott Henderson, IDEO, Yves Behar, Superhappybunny and more. Brilliant.

Please, touch not the cat.

Can't find any info about John being dead, Allen. Source?

The Kraftwerk Animal Adventure

A Children's Book By Doc

cupcakes

Speaking of no sleep... thank you Detroit, for packing out Les Infants Terribles on Friday night and dancing like crazy people, no matter what records we threw at you. Detroit rocks. Extra special thanks to extra special guest DJ Mike Trombley. Your lifetime mebership card is in the mail.

xoxo

-Team Dorkwave

P.S. I dropped the ball with taking photos Friday night. If anyone has pics, please forward them along to mike@burnlab.net

i might be repeating myself, but fuck it...next friday in bcn is a night reserved for the band called low. while in nyc i saw the lead singer/guitarist alan sparhawk in a rare solo performance where he proceded to ask for and then smoke an illegal susbstance and then lose all sense. the funniest thing about the whole evening was the fact that his fans pleaded his case while he could barely keep his head up. pleading to the audience he asked if he sucked, the super-nerd crowd responded "no, you rock!". my attempts to bring the real situation to light were met by hostility...

in backup of my last post, majesty crush was a band detroit had when unfortunately detroit was still uncool as a city for guitar-based bands (sorry but the fact that a band comes from detroit and starts with "the" doesn´t make it good). majesty crush combined the lovely-ness of shoegazerdom with the balls of 70´s rock and a lead singer who alternately scared and attracted...if you can find it look for any copy of the song "no. 1 fan" and you´ll know what i´m talking about

another thing, i´ve been listening to a cd by a girl called feist and i can´t stop...think catpower mixed with 70´s motown...amazing

John at detroitblog captures my sentiments exactly in regard to the Wyland mural on the Broderick Tower in downtown Detroit.

Imagine for a minute if UNTITLED was an ad agency and got the McDonalds account.
Loving it.

[thanks BitBoy]

Derek seriously needs to update his website.
Derek needs a blog.
Derek needs to write more on Burnlab.

You listening Plaslaiko?

xoxo

Before you head down to Les Infants tonight, come see Burnlab's Doc perform and chat at Cranbrook:

This Friday, November 12th

Cranbrook Art Museum

Doc (Focus Media / DTM) - Live Interview And Performance

Interview and Q+A By Herdest Cummings (who also goes by Das Closer, on KMS Records) @ 6:30pm

Musical Performance starts at 7:00pm and goes till 8:30pm

The performance will be out of the ordinary... I will not be playing for the audience, but rather for the exhibit, African Diaspora. Imagine if the artwork was the movie, I will be doing the score. Lots of twisted melody and obnoxious noise. Its going to be straight up Docspeed You! Wack Emperor.

$5 | All Ages Welcome

focusmedia.org
cranbrook.edu/art/museum/events


On the art tip....

You may know that a handful of Burnlab editors have also been busy planning Detroit's newest gallery space for the city's oldest non-profit arts organization. This Saturday evening we are pleased to open the first exhibition at the brand new Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit.

The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit presents: Metamorphosis

November 13, 2004 through December 18, 2004

After 25 years of nomadic existence, hosting its unique contemporary art exhibitions in diverse venues, the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID) finally has a space to call its own. CAID has taken up residence at 5141 Rosa Parks Boulevard, in the space formerly occupied by detroit contemporary. The newly remodeled gallery will serve as an exhibition space and headquarters for the organization.

As we look forward with this first exhibition in the new space, we also look backward and celebrate CAID's long history and impact over the years. This first show will feature the work of five former board members of CAID from the past 20 years. These five will act as curators, each selecting one local established or emerging artist to present work alongside his or her own work. Besides the individual artworks, the show will include a comprehensive history of the organization and the works that were a part of it, as well as a series of lectures, talks and/or performances.

Metamorphosis will open on Saturday, November 13, 2004 and run through December 18, 2004. The opening reception will be on November 13 from 6pm to 11pm. The exhibit and opening reception are free and open to the public.

CAID is a community based non-profit organization established to foster and promote the essential link between contemporary arts and contemporary society through its exhibitions, performances, critical and public discourse and the funding of contemporary arts and art related activities.

CAID is located at:
5141 Rosa Parks Blvd., Detroit (formerly the Detroit Contemporary space)

more info here | flyer here

Pretty Girls Don't Ride The Subway.

I finally had the pleasure of meeting Atomly last week at the awesome Dance Idiot Dance event, thrown by Mark and Lisa, who are quickly becoming two of our bestest friends in New York. (Hopefully they'll still be our friends even after I posted that photo.) Anyway, if you've been reading Burnlab since the the dusk of the 20th century, you know that I first came across Atomly because he used to host the clever one pager www.fucktrance.com (don't bother - it's now a porn site or something) and made some of the most intense breakbeat I had ever heard at the time. Still does actually. The point I'm getting to is not only does Atomly rock even more in person than over e-mail, but so does his blog. The man ditched GWAR. Heh.



One more thing: balls.

bingo!

(I didn't know Odell was in Spahn Ranch though. O, I know you read this... is it true?)

for anyone who might know...is the michael segal who is currently related to ghostly the same one who used to be the guitarist for my favorite detroit shoegazer band "majesty crush" ? (the same band which also featured the drumming skills of another semi-often-mentioned-in-burnlab detroiter odell nails)

I just downloaded the most recent Black Strobe EP from Bleep and it is killing me. Think of it as industrial strength acid in a dark, smoky Belgian cabaret circa 1985. What a good week for inspiration. Expect plenty of it tomorrow night at Les Infants.

36 hour warning: Les Infants Terribles Friday night.

The first batches of photos are up from UNTITLED NYC: Reckless and New York vs. Detroit part 3.

If these don't make your eyes hurt, more are on the way...

Yet another one joins the Berlin Fan Club.

Montreal-based sound/visual/performance artists Skoltz_Kolgen are blowing my mind with beauty.

[thanks to Nix]

Direct quote... "We want it to be black, but could you not make it so dark?" This and other Top 20 Stupid Client Quotes at Clientcopia [via Newstoday].

New Yorkers have many descriptions for ol' Rudy, ranging from "nazi" to "hero", but most have very mixed feelings. (I tend to think of him as a "charismatic asshole.") A recent poll of republicans put the former mayor of NYC way out in front as their favorite candidate for 2008. Despite his shortcomings (and there are many), having a pro-choice, relatively level-headed and articulate republican in office would be a welcome change second only to the second coming of Bubba under the current climate. Giuliani and poll runner-up John McCain represent where the party should be headed... back toward reason and away from fanaticism.

Hitting the tarmac running...



Les Infants Terribles returns to Detroit this Friday at Corktown Tavern with Team Dorkwave and special guest DJ Mike Trombley of The Sights.


But first...



Join us for a special exhibition of Michael Segal's postcards at the Motor City Brewing Works this Wednesday evening.

Wonka: June 2005.

One more note about the trip: Sliced bread really has nothing on Jacques Torres Wicked Hot Chocolate right from the chocolatier on a chilly November afternoon. Even better with a side of sambuca at Low, as we discovered. (Also takes the edge off that impending flood and subsequent ice age.)

The Burnlab/Ghostly/Dorkwave/Untitled road team is back in Detroit safe and sound from a week of extremely successful events in New York City. Huge thanks to the whole NYC crew for a great time, the fine hospitality and enthusiastic support of our crazy schemes.

Three notes from the trip I'd like to share:

1) Pit Stop French Bistro in Red Hook Brooklyn joins the ranks of Diner in Williamsburg, Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak and Corner Bistro in Greenwich Village for tastiest hamburger in the world. A required destination for traveling carnivores.

2) If you get a chance, do check out the current exhibition at Smack Mellon Gallery in DUMBO Brooklyn. Of particular interest is the work of David Ellis and Valerie Hegarty.

3) Kill Memory Crash live might be the best thing since sliced bread. More Kill, please.


(Allen - I'd give you raise if I could. Now get back to work.)

Adobe launches Proxy, a downloadable design magazine.

250 scientists from eight nations agree, global warming is heating the Arctic almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet in a thaw that threatens millions of livelihoods and could wipe out polar bears by 2100.

in keeping with the rather positive outlook of post-election burnlab, beginning plans are in the works to bring "untitled" to the world, seems that untitled is just too damn cool too keep it stateside (especially if you poor bastards get nuked...oops, sorry, very negative.did i say that?)

no idea of exactly where or when or with whom but it will happen...i´m trying to make it happen in barcelona, but i challenge berliners to give us spanierds a run for our dinero...

Pure Detroit Design Lab: White Shirt Show grand opening event tonight, featuring one shirt interpreted by over 25 designers, the photography of Riva Sayegh and muisc by the Tamion Tag Team [Ersatz Audio].

Friday, Nov. 5, 8-11pm
Pure Detroit Design Lab
156 W. Congress @ Shelby
Downtown Detroit
313-961-8320

12 new construction photos of Herzog & de Meuron's de Young Museum in San Fran.

[via Dezain.net]

17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists

[via Protien OS]

The usual suspects...



As previously noted by Kevin, Untitled NYC is at The Delacey this Saturday night. Not to be missed. Full flyer here.

Core77 reviews the Massive Change exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

(If you haven't visited in a while, Core77 has a sharp new look, and expanded Clogger team.)

Hot new Motorola t.v. ad featuring Dabrye.

Kerry won.

For any of you looking for a place to wait out the next four years, as of 20:55 GMT there is a sofa in Munich still available...

Canadian officials made clear on Wednesday that any U.S. citizens so fed up with Bush that they want to make a fresh start up north would have to stand in line like any other would-be immigrants -- a wait that can take up to a year.

I woke up in the middle of the night after a dream in which John Kerry asked me to be on his cabinet while we both sat at a bus stop. No idea what that means. "Secretary of blogging?"

So I get out of bed, check the major news sites to find that OH, NM and IA are still too close to call at 5:00am, write this entry and am about to go back to bed.

I watched Office Space again last night. I'm so glad I'm going to New York tonight. I'm in no state of mind to deal with the culture of corporate middle-america. I need to be around my own kind for a while - especially if the results of this election go badly. One step closer to Europe for me. I love America so much. Why is it so fucked up? Who are these people who took it over? How is this country so far off course? There's an iceberg with our name on it if we we don't straighten out.

5:45. Back to bed now. Maybe there will be a phone call about a cabinet position when I get up later.

Who the heck is Noise Tank?

Noise Tank is dark pop for affected youth.
Noise Tank blends pretty indie rock guitar and vocals with smartly textured, almost sinister electronics.
Noise Tank would be perfectly at home on 4AD.
(I mean, really at home on 4AD.)
Noise Tank might be my favorite band of the moment.
Noise Tank also happens to be the work of a kid named Doc, who happens to be the newest addition to the Burnlab editorial staff.

Seriously, download the two tracks from the link above, sniff some glue and break into an old factory. You'll be glad you did.

No matter what happens tonight, this happens Wednesday night.

I don't generally care much for sports, traditions or superstitions, but this I like.

Three more things I like today:

Voter turnout in my sort of middle-class-bohemian-pseudo-intellectual neighborhood was intense this morining. (Obviously, this is John Kerry's base.) It normally takes me about twenty minutes to vote. Mrs. Doyle and I spent over two hours in line today. This good.

I did some unscientific exit polling around my office (a place that sometimes makes Office Space look like a nutty time at Chuck E. Cheese's.) The general feeling seems to be, "the country is much worse off than it was four years ago. It needs to be fixed. (read: Bush blew his chance. I'm voting for Kerry.)" This sentiment is coming mainly from independents and registered republicans. Good.

The unofficial office polling also projects a resounding NO vote on Proposal 2 in Michigan - again, mostly talking to white suburban males I might expect different from. This is really good news.

inter spem et metum

Spinalcat is MIT thesis project using a set of disk-jockey turntables and paper 'records' that can be printed or drawn. One of the many cool parts is the optical scanner used is nothing more than the CueCat barcode scanner, widely distributed as a free giveaway.

Tonight: The UNTITLED Devil's night Costume Dance Party

@ The Labyrinth, 1703 Cass Ave., Detroit

18+ | 10pm - ? | $5 w/ costume (+$2 loser tax w/out)

haute techno in the catacomb ballroom:
Geoff White [live] + UNTITLED resident DJs Matthew Dear, Mike Servito and Ryan Elliot

punk, postpunk, post-proto-industrial, electro, new wave, shoegazer and all thing strange, clicky, blippy and beautiful with featured DJs in the street level bar:
Team Dorkwave + Michael Segal (Neptune illuminati, Detroit icon) and DJ Skitzo (a.k.a. the wolf in SV4 clothing, Ghostly International)

celebratory features to include the Untitled Wheel of Chance and a special surprise you can beat with a stick...

The only place to be on Devil's Night. Total mayhem or your dignity back. Plus, there's a Ramada hotel and the legendary City Club in the same building... where it's Devil's Night every night. Blackbx has even secured a special UNTITLED rate at the Ramada - just ask at the desk.

Fabulous.

flyer front | back


(oh, and regarding item two in the previous post: I still hate that.)

The casualties of Bush's Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Attention all armchair pundits, novice policy wonks and Allen:

Wanna win an iTunes or Amazon gift certificate? Take the challenge from my friends over at 1115. See how your electoral college predictions stack up against the real thing.

From the always awesome Matthew Tobey:

If this doesn't sink Bush, I don't know what will. A local TV station had an embedded crew that shot video of bunkers of explosives after the invasion of Iraq. It looks like they have footage of the now-missing explosives from Al Qaqaa, which means they disappeared after the US came in. Here's the video.

More nice press for Les Infants Terribles.

VivaDorkwave!
Thanks Carleton and Walter!

"This equipment could be anywhere. But one good bet is Iran..."

For you pollster junkies, check out where the electoral predictions stand today. Could the ol' mitten state actually be the deciding showdown? Reason suggests that Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania are the key to this election: whoever wins two out of three take the White House. As the projections stand right now, Kerry is leading in OH and PA, George has FL, but Michigan (typically a blue state) is dead-tied. If you look at the map, whoever takes MI would go over the requited 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. Of course it's all just fun number play right now. Who knows how the potential four to six million americans abroad will vote, or how possible tampering and bullying will affect the outcome.

Our good friend Dan Selzer (New York's favorite DJ's DJ) has a lot of great stuff going on this weekend. If you know Dan, you know he writes long, but brilliant e-mails. I'm particuarly tired, so instead of editing the highlights as usual, I'm just posting the whole damn thing here. Enjoy:

Hello again, hello
Just called to say 'hello'
I couldn't sleep at all tonight
And I know it's late
But I couldn't wait

I want to tell you about a few things. About a few fun-time parties I'm involved with this weekend of Hallowe's Eve. Also about some record label style activity.

Hello, my friend, hello
Just called to let you know
I think about you every night
When I'm here alone
And you're there at home
Hello

first, while I (briefly) have your attention, please visit alldisco.net , the new website about the new monthly party ALLDISCO. It features playlists and mp3 mixes of our first night, and offers the oppurtunity to sign up for the alldisco mailing list, which is highly recommended. I will make sure ALLDISCO® mastermind Jeremy doesn't abuse said list with spam and the selling of your address to questionable marketeers. Please read our usage and privacy policy. Thank you.

Maybe it's been crazy
And maybe I'm to blame
But I put my heart above my head
We've been through it all
And you loved me just the same
And when you're not there
I just need to hear

ALSO, just wanted to let you know that Acute Records ACT007 will be out early in november. The Prefects are Amateur Wankers is already getting amazing press in both the UK and US, being called one of the great lost punk post-punk bands. It's a really fun CD and you should buy it. I NEED your money. Acute Records was also profiled in the NYC issue of XLR8R, will be featured in an upcoming issue of the online mag Dusted Magazine, and will be part of a New York Times article regarding the career of Glenn Branca. And we've got like, 10 CDs planned. Keeping busy.

Hello, my friend, hello
It's good to need you so
It's good to love you like I do
And to feel this way
When I hear you say
Hello

so this weekend I'm taking part in two (2) parties, or as I like to call them, partys. The Warriors party is saturday and Motherfucker is sunday. To view the respective flyers, please visit:

acuterecords.com/halloween.gif

for another take on these parties, please visit my Crazy Rhythms Life Partner Mike's website:

troublemanunlimited.com

yes. Grab Cakes are an actual New York City delicacy. They aren't often on the menu, so the next time you're at one of New York's fine dining establishments, be it Jean Georges, Daniel or the Four Seasons, even if it's not on the menu, just ask for the Grab Cakes. I highly recommend them.

Now here's the deal with the big parties, and no I didn't write either of these party promos, see how concise they are?:

A party of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,00; they outnumber the police 5 to 1; and on Saturday, October 30th, they're gathering at The Warriors Halloween Party at Supreme Trading.

THE WARRIORS HALLOWEEN PARTY
Saturday, October 30th
Supreme Trading
8000 square foot warehouse venue
213 North 8th Street (Roebling/Driggs)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
10PM - 4AM
OPEN BAR 10-11
$10 rsvp to: warriorshalloween@yahoo.com
$14 at door

DJ AFRIKA BAMBAATAA
Tim Sweeney (DFA / Beats in Space)
Dan Selzer & Mike Simonetti (Crazy Rhythms)
Matt B. Safer (The Rapture)
Cat Hartwell (Fannypack)
Ilirjana (Vice / The Pop Manifesto)
Phil-Two (Fagtronix / Bad Mixing)

COME IN A GROUP OF FRIENDS, DRESSED AS YOUR OWN GANG, WITH YOUR OWN
DISTINCT STYLE AND NAME.



AND NOW FOR MOTHERFUCKER!



this from one of the motherfucker promoters:

Also THE Halloween club night to be at!!!


Motherfucker is being thrown at SPIRIT again.. for those of u who missed the Anniversary party it was one of the BEST MOFO's I've been to yet.. so I'm excited that they are returning to that killer space… so here it is.. as always.. this is pretty advanced notice.. it would be nice if people who wanted to get on my list would email me sooner then later rather then waiting for the day of the event to get on the reduced list…..

Here we go!

MOTHERFUCKER HALLOWEEN EVENT!!
Michael T., Justine D., Johnny T., & Georgie Seville Present::
MOTHERFUCKER – Halloween Creepshow! - Sunday OCT 31st

Main Floor DJ's
Michael "Ghoul" T
Justine "Satanica" D
Dave "Goblin Boy" P

Put a Spell on you Spinning:
Possessed Rock N Roll, Puke Green Punk, Nosferatu New Wave & Devilish Disco!

Upstairs in the Beelzebub's Lounge:
Tommie "Dr. Cyclops" Sunshine (XJR, Gigolo, NYC)
(Crazy Rythmes) Dan "The Terror" Selzer"
and Mike "The Maniac" Simonetti
Spin: Post Exorcist Punk & Nu Wave Monster House!

In the Witches & Warlocks Lair:
"Spooky" Smallchange
"The Butcher" Dirty Dan
Spin: Raw… Gut Wrenching Soul, Ghostly Garage & Voodoo-Billy!

Masters of Horros
Linda Simpson & Theo
Scare the hairspray out of you!

Stroke of Mid-Night Performance by:
The Undead Fuckers!

Hellacious Fire Show
By Ted-E @ 1:30am

Burn in Hell with Head Promosexual
Ron "Armageddon" M

Grey Goose OPEN VODKA BAR 10-11pm

Give-a-ways from Tony @ Tina, Auto Lux & PM

Transtesticle b-day bash for MS Mudhoney

Late-Nite B-Movie COSTUME CONTEST

@ SPIRIT
530 W. 27th St (btwn 10/11th Ave)

Countess Thomas Unlocks the Castle Gates @10pm
Trolls pay $10 bucks b4 11pm w/ Invite $15 after 11pm

(Or Simply mention ure on Daniel/DRG's Reduced! Get on my reduced list! Email me!
daniel@fortifiedwithsugar.com and BETTER STILL when ure on the reduced list u get to go
on the List Line.. MUCH quicker!)

Suckers w/ No invite and No List who can't even remember my name pay $20 all Nite!

18 to feast/21 to drink .. Any age to DIE!

Dress Code: Early 80's slasher Victim, Disco Zombie, Blond Drenched Prom Queen, Devils
in white "tails" or Blue Dress. Wheelchair bound killy trannies!

motherfuckernyc.com

Hello, my friend, hello
Just called to let you know
I think about you every night
And I know it's late
But I couldn't wait
Hello

thank you neil diamond for the lyrical interludes.

good night and much love,

dan selzer

I'm off the bed. Cheers.

my post u.s.a thoughts:

i have been back in spain for a week now and, although i´m glad to be back, i miss the political race and the baseball playoffs. in a critique of detroit life, though, i must say that mike d and jonny o et al are doing a hell of a job keeping it interesting. "untitled" and "les infants" are doing the city proud, and it was my great pleasure to hang out with/meet such detroit/burnlab icons as mike servito, rob theakston, allen (my ex-nemesis) goodman, ryan elliot, jason clark, and a hot girl which i will not mention (but who should be aware of who she is)...detroit rock city lives on

The evil will start early this year, this devils night..... eve. when Ultradyne terrifies the fine folks at Olso, Detroit by way of Soft Curls




read:// im going as ultradyne this year

RIP John Peel

Mister Robot a.k.a. Eugene Mirman [previous post] clears up all this "swift boat" nonsense once and for all here.

This is the best thing EVER.

Mister Robot

[thanks bitboy]

After you vote next Tuesday, cast your vote for Chris "Christmas" Rodriguez to replace that jolly fatman.