eurobad '74: an exhibition of Europe's worst interiors, circa 1974

[via Archinect]

Brand new site for Berlin/Brooklyn-based agency OLEX, a.k.a. our old friends Oliver and Alex Lins. Keep it clean, gents.

These guys are my new heros. When's the last time you got this excited over music?

Friendster seems to have finally gotten their act together with some serious hardware. It's actually FAST! Bravo.

One of our two fabulous guests for the August 13th edition of Les Infants Terribles, Make Out Club founder Gibby Miller is starting a new Wednesday weekly in the basement of the infamous Lit bar in New York. '976' kicks off tonight with all the punk, postpunk, britpop, elektro, techno, acid house and strangeness you know and love from Gibby's stellar musical collection. (and I don't just say that because we own alomost exactly the same records.) There will be an open bar from 11pm-1am, and its one of the few venues that ignore New York City's lame-ass smoking ban.

Also coming up is the Make Out Club four year anniversary party at Lit on July 21st. DJs Dave Elliot, Gibby, Dave P (Making Time, Philladelphia), Damian G (The Explosion), special guest DJ EDMX (DMX Krew, Berlin), and live performances form Mooney Suzuki + a secret guest. "Five bucks before bands, FREE after!! Cheap drinks, 21+ or REALLY GOOD FAKE ID. DONT MISS THIS."
Seriously.

Completing the L.I.T. DTW vs. Lit NYC theme, Team Dorkwave will be doing a special edition of 976 in New York City late August. That's right: Dorkwave New York. Details to come.

We are pleased to present an industrial strength edition of Les Infants Terribles on Friday, July 9th with Boomer [Omegaman] Reynolds and Keith [Psilopolisp] Kemp. This will be the official record release party for Boomer's Clubhead mix CD on Invisible Records. Martin Atkins is sending over a ton of Invisible giveaways, including custom CDs, t-shirts and god knows what else. If anyone didn't pick up one of the 100 limited edition CD flyers at Derek Plaslaiko's going away celebrationathon over the weekend, we have just a few left to hand out tonight at the Woodward Avenue Brewery for Derek's birthday party. The CD flyer has a special Dorkwave mix by Boomer, which includes some rare Wax Trax! cuts and postpunk classics. These will be going for hundreds on e-Bay in no time. ;)

the details:
Les Infants Terribles, Friday, July 9th at the Peacock Upstairs
[southeast corner of Woodward and Grand Circus Park, Detroit]
18+ | 10pm - late | always free!

Also that night our good friend TRAXX will be playing exactly one block away at OSLO, and our very own Mike Servito will be playing a couple blocks further down at Foran's. Its' so easy, we encourage people to hit all three events.

This Friday night [July 2nd] at OSLO, Italo-disco legend Alexander Robotnick will be performing live. A rare treat indeed! More info at Soft Curls. There is also a secret guest DJ who you really don't want to miss. The non-Detroit-based Burnlabbers will be jealous. Trust me on this one.

p.s. Derek: happy birthday, and f.y.i. your webpage is now 1 year out of date.
p.p.s. Happy birthday to Lynnel! (who has no webpage other than the one you are currently viewing.)

I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 with Andy Malone last night, and will try to write a brief and objective review here: The first thing that struck me is how it almost felt like two movies. The first half of the film dealing with the Bush family's ties to the Bin Laden family is fascinating, includes the cartoony, fast-cut editing of Bowling for Columbine, and really raises a lot of questions without any real conclusions. As compelling as the inferences are, and whether they are true or not, it is the type of conjecture that Moore's critics often cite him for. However, in the second half of the film, which deals with the war in Iraq, the director allows the footage and the facts to speak for themselves. It's truly brilliant documentary film making, no matter what your politics, and it shows a side of the war that we just don't get from the mainstream media. It relieves the viewer with the right amount of amusing stunts to balance the gruesome footage and gut wrenching interviews. The final sequence, including a long quote from George Orwell, is really stellar work on any level. Every American, whether they like Michael Moore or not, really needs to see this film. I personally like Michael Moore, and I applaud him for getting information out to the people that Disney, the networks and the newspapers won't.

We all love and loathe New York City for its unapologetic fickleness. Not to be limited to music, fashion and cuisine, the capitol of the world is known to quickly embrace and reject every trendsetter to pass through the Verrazano Narrows, and architects have clearly been the focus ever since September of 2001. With razor sharp self-awareness, Curbed.com has given current darling of the art press and public, the ever charming Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava 194 days to his media immolation.

More on Moore: The smartest and cutest person I know submits this concise review of Fahrenheit 9/11 (and I paraphrase here): "This film is the single most important thing anyone could do for our country short of a bullet."

Bush: "War not inciting terrorists." With all due respect Mr. President, is it growing up the son of a CIA man and all your friends being sleazy executives and religious fanatics that makes you so comfortable lying to everyone all the time, or is it that you are just so fucked up in the head that you really believe what you're saying?

I'm more disappointed than ever that the only viable alternative voted for the war. That really should have been an automatic disqualifier for any democratic nominee. Maddening as it all is, a gentleman named Alan Blevins (who I'm guessing is from New Jersey, just based on his particular use of language) puts it all in perspective.

Michael Moore's work always requires a fair amount of salt and personal fact-checking on the individual viewer's part, but it's certainly healthy to have witty checks and balances in the world of political sensationalism. Fahrenheit 9/11 broke box office records in New York this week and is selling out theaters around the country (just watch the showtimes on Moviefone.com disappear before your eyes), sure to set several records for documentary films, if not sneak up on fellow Michigander Sam Raimi's Spiderman 2 to be the top summer blockbuster. (What was Disney thinking?!) The New York Times online even dedicated a feature section to the movie.

Celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was on Charlie Rose last night discussing his most recent book, War, Evil, and the End of History, and the "fine line between normality and barbarianism which exists in all men." Fascinating interview and most timely.

I came home today to a package from Forced Exposure. So happy to finally have my own copies of the new Anthony Rother album and DNA on DNA. Also picked up some essentials sorely missing from the library, including Terence Fxmer's brilliant compilation Aktion Mekanik. Office neighbors be warned.

This Friday our good friends at City People Music present enigmatic electro terrorists Ultradyne at the 2500 Club in Detroit. Also performing will be T. Linder, Andy Hegler, and Matt Abbott + friends on the patio. 18+ | 10pm-2am | 2500 Park at Henry St.

Detroit and Brooklyn and closing yet another trade. This time Brooklyn gets Derek Plaslaiko in exchange for Mrs. Doyle. (I think Detroit's getting the better deal, but I'm biased of course.) To mark the event, there are going to be a series of consecutive parties, starting with a 4 hour DJ set from Derek at the Shelter on Saturday night. In proper Plaslaiko fashion, the celebrating is supposedly planned to run well into Sunday afternoon.
Good god...

Speaking of mayhem, I've finally uploaded photos from the May edition of Les Infants Terribles. Click. (Big thanks to MegB0t for the extra snaps!)

Please take a look at how eclectic the crowd is. These are key ingredients to any good party:
age diversity: good
ethnic diversity: good
sexual orientation: about 50/50
bald guy in black tank top drinking from brown bag: check
guy with glasses and tie drinking from brown bag: check
Rob Theakston: check
guy who brought the brown bag with video camera: check
hot school teacher: check
goth bar tenders: check
indie rockers: plenty
techno kids having fun to music with words: yep
old school candy ravers: check
art school kids: oh yeah
really normal looking people who wandered in and seemed to have a blast: check
coworkers seeing your 'dark side': check
18 year old gigolo with dreads and awesome shirt: check
Roxy Music baseball jersey: check
silver cape: check
vinyl skirt: check
guy wearing babushka: check
young Jackie O with orange hair: check
guy with fuscha wig, green moustache and pirate shirt: check
boy on boy action: check
girl on girl action: check
girl on boy action: check
disco balls smashed: one
amount of glass broken: indeterminable
furniture destroyed: indeterminable
wrestling in broken glass: check
getting yelled at by the bartender for breaking things: check
owner firing the bartender for yelling at people for breaking things: check
three guys wrestling a traffic drum to the ground at 4am: check

Good times.

The CHOICEST moment of SONAR: 9.30am friday, in taxi heading to after with magda and ricardo villalobos, ricardo using his cellphone to call his liver to see if it could handle more (i think the answer was yes).....and speaking of livers, i´m happy to let you know marius that i was finally able to eat solid food today (60 or so hours later). life´s little pleasures

Who isn't fascinated by the rich texture and history of decaying architecture? Superb photos and related links at Abandoned Places dot com.

just signing in to ditto chris on the excellence of 4 days of pure mayhem, and also to say that my favorite show stealer was Canadian turntable kid numero uno, mr. Kid Koala. his mixing of samples from Cure's "Closer" and Tears for Fears' "Shout" with the usual weird scratchy breaks simply tore the place up. the otherwise under-energized hip hop stage was jumping, just a fantastic show.

sorry it has taken a couple days for a SONAR report but it honestly took that long for me to recover...so, best guess would be that it was an amazing weekend (it was). thanks to my very willing accomplice burnlabber marius watz, we were able to do more than humanly possible over the three days of the festival. other accomplices were sarah and zuzanna, jen and lateef (sp? sorry man), and many more of the detroit/ghostly crew.

a bit more detailed report to come, but the highlight day was definitely friday, kicking off with SONARday and the ghostly showcase of geoff white and dabrye, SONARnight kicking it with monster sets by magda, richie hawtin vs. ricardo villalobos, and finally matthew dear. the night ended for me (but not others) at about noon the next day at an attic apartment overlooking barcelona with the dj skills of magda, richie, ricardo, and michael maier...not too shabby a day

more details and photos to come....

Our friend Kazys was at the launch of SpaceShipOne this morning in the Mojavoe desert and sends you these photos of the historic flight.

Since a small handful of corporations control the mass media, and honestly, we're really just talking to ourselves on the internet, get lo-fi: freeway blogging!

This is a pretty disturbing discussion thread beating up on Skinny Puppy and their fans from an extremist right wing board. I'd advise not reading it if you're in a good mood. Big thanks (I think) to Jared for the link. And here's a really comprehensive interview with Ogre and cEvin that apparently got the rednecks in such a seething fit.

The first manned flight of a reusable, privately built spacecraft is scheduled for Monday morning. Developed by Scaled Composites of California, SpaceShipOne is competing with twenty teams from seven countries for the X Prize, a $10 million competition to develop and test the first viable commercial spacecraft. More at CNN and the BBC.

THX 1138 coming to DVD in September.

Cozytone is a monthly online album of artwork from leading edge young designers, artists and photographers. Top notch stuff.

Important little announcement: Tonight's edition of Les Infants Terribles will be on the third floor of the Broderick Tower, rather than the basement ballroom. The new space was previewed at the Run.Stop.Restore party with Magda and Troy Pierce during the Movement festival, and features many strange nooks and crannies and a definite abandoned building vibe which can only be described as "sketchy awesomeness." Plus, the sound system has been refurbed from the ground up to provide more than ample noise vibration and harshness for all the terrible children.

New favorite quote: Martin Atkins to Boomer Reynolds, "Your friends [Mark Lazar and myself] are crazy!" ...this coming from one of the pivotal players of the original London punk scene and the Chicago industrial scene. Heh heh. Wait 'til Mark and I unleash the live bat pinata! (just kidding... maybe.)

After giving up hope around 11:30pm, I did finally get in to the very sold out Skinny Puppy show in Detroit last night. (I know you were all hanging on bated breath.) HUGE thanks to Katie and Bethany for making it happen, and extra special thanks to Liz and Nix for the valiant effort on behalf of my dumb ass who didn't buy tickets in advance. (Is it weird that all my Puppy contacts are girls?) Anyway, the show was really good - lots of old favorites, including VX Gas Attack, Glass Houses, and of course Testure as an encore.

a few pics:







...and some 12 second video clips of Glass Houses and Tin Omen (The sound is horribly garbled on the clips, but it was super clear in person. You get the idea.)

edit: the above should open in Quicktime. Let me know if therey're not working for you - see Contact section at left. Oh, and hello to everyone wandering over from the Litany boards! Yes, I know the clips are short and the sound is horrible.

Note to designers: please retain a layer of caution when giving feedback.

"I killed her because she reminded me of an old school teacher whom I hated very much."

If anyone is still having mushy feelings about Ronald Reagan, Congressman John Dingell puts it all in perspective in a comment posted on Rob's Blog.

Our friends at Motor City Rocks have just posted the schedule for the Rock City Festival this weekend. 30 bands. 2 stages. 2 days. Free! See Dave Runk's June 9th post for more details.

T. Raumschmiere's label Shitkatapult has spun off a new division called MUSICK. The first 12" release ranges from minimal techno to the coarse gnarzigkeit electropunk we all know and love, featuring T., Elastic Heads (aka Trike, BPitchcontrol), Spectral artist Peter Grummich and Detroit native Jerry Abstrsact. Herr Raumschmiere will be performing at the Sonar festival as part of a Shitkatapult showcase this Friday in Barcelona.

as a sort of kick-off of sonar week, our friends zuzanna and sarah of zuzanium are presenting their collection for the first time in spain tonite june 15th in zentraus club on rambla del raval, with guest dj nigel hayes

Superhuman strength. Coming to an exoskeleton near you.

Here is a choice selection of pics and vids taken with my favorite new toy over Movement and Mutek weekends. I've never fetishized a camera before, in fact, I hate carrying one. But after I saw the Casio belonging to this guy, i just had to have one. Unfortunately, the video of the panel discussion I was part of was inexplicably deleted. But I can assure all my fellow labmates that while i might not have been the smartest guy on a panel that featured fine folks from XLR8R, ZedTV, Capital Magazine, De:BUG and Revue Mouvement, I was certainly the wittiest.

Here is a clip featuring Jared Louche of Chemlab from Omegaman's upcoming Clubhead record, mentioned earlier. So good. If all goes as planned, Les Infants Terribles will be hosting the record release party a bit later this summer.

That's why its important to read Burnlab daily: you get all the good stuff way before anyone else. :)

I'm working on an album of Burnlab sticker sightings. If you happen to have one or spot one somewhere, please take a click-click and send it along to mike at burnlab dot net. I'll send you something nice in return. Most common sightings seem to be on DJ record cases, synthesizers, and public bathrooms (of course.) Thanks!

Puppy Please

So, I put off buying tickets for Thursday's Skinny Puppy show in Detroit. Now of course, it's sold out! I do have friends of friends of friends from Toledo to New York to Miami trying to wrangle something on behalf of my dumb ass, but nothing for sure and any help at all getting at least one these coveted little passes in my hands would be greatly appreciated. :)

Bethany sent me a photo of Ogre from the dress rehearsals last week. Not sure if its okay to post here yet, but the costume she designed for him looks something like a Victorian straight jacket for a cosmonaut. So awesome. I'm going to die if I can't get into this show...

Damage Addict

Friday's Damage Manual show in Chicago was fantastic, plus we got some excellent schwag from the good folks at Invisible. Lazar and I were a bit disappointed we couldn't get a proper pit going during Stateless... seriously, Chicago... there's no chin stroking allowed at punk shows where we come from!


Chris Connelly and Martin Atkins in action


another dive bar toilet tagged

Watch for the Invisible release of Clubhead by Mr. Boomer Omegaman Reynolds - a continuous mix of Pigface classics completely stripped down to byte size loops and reassembled with new drum and synth programming (and even some vocals) by Omegaman himself. Pigface as you've never heard it, guaranteed.

Friday night is the mini-dorkwave Chicago invasion: Blackbx/Burnlab/Movement/Minus sound guru Mark Lazar, Boomer (Omegaman) Reynolds and myself are roadtripping to see the postpunk/industrial supergroup Damage Manual at the Bottom Lounge. We hope to see a few familiar freaks while we're there. I will undoubtedly be all giddy and flustered in the presence of Chicago Industrial royalty.

If you're in Detroit Friday night, there are two great shows to check out:

Ghostly International presents Music From the Wires For Ears Vol. IV, featuring Greg Davis and Lusine at the Magic Stick.

Down the street, Oslo will be in the good hands of Italians Marco Passarani, MAT 101, Raiders of the Lost Arp and Detroit's own, the always awesome Adam Lee Miller (of Adult., of course.)

Remember to clear your schedule for next Friday night/Saturday morning, because this guy is going to turn up both the sleaze and the synths for your pleasure.

This is an interesting read. If anything because it's a fair and balanced response to the oversaturation of Reganthon '04. Those seeking political asylum should direct their browsers here, but only if you aren't at work..because it's horrifically offensive and crude, but oh so loveable. However, those looking for more heinous crimes committed by the US government should check this one out.

Bush vs. umbrella: a picture of grace.

[thanks to John Jourden]


Thanks to the Metro Times for the vote of confidence and the love. The Movement editorial is dead-on. Nothing but praise to Derrick May and everyone at Transmat for selflessly dedicating impossible hours and personal finances (in the six-digit range) to make it all happen. However, the poor organization and complete lack of communication prevent the festival from being what it could and should be... from being what Derrick wants it to be: the American equivalent of SONAR. Money or no money, it all comes down to delegation and communication. There are so many talented people in the city (and around the world for that matter) who would give their all for the festival if the process were open and straight-forward. If its for the community, the community should be involved from the start... nothing gets people motivated faster than honesty and a sense of ownership. < /soapbox >

The Metro Times' postmortem on the Movement Festival, which proposes giving Burnlab and other members of "Detroit's loose constellation of promoters, supporters and online media" -- as well as Ghostly International and others -- a role in a revitalized festival. It also heaps praise on Blackbx's afterparty efforts, including bringing us Mathew Jonson's live set at The Shelter.

And be sure to check out the Rock City Festival, featuring Brendan Benson, PAS/CAL, Blanche, The Sights and other Detroit favorites. It's free and runs June 19-20 behind the Majestic Theater.

Germans are so cool.

XTH_berlin and Realities United architecture, design and technology.

Since its come up more than a few times recently, I'd like to point out that I am not actually the unflappable, unsleeping party robot that I play on TV. That's a character which - as a promoter and general instigator comes out for a few hours about once a week. Six out of seven days I'm actually a responsible adult with a cool job, an awesome wife, two freaky dogs and some rather mundane habits. Hopefully most have gathered the irony of it all through Burnlab over the years, but apparently it needs to be pointed out from time to time.

So on that note, the new issue of the drunken robot's bible, Vice hit the streets recently. Be sure to see the always priceless Fashion Dos and Dont's, the completely ridiculous Vice Guide to Partying and the bitingly accurate article on how to be a DJ.

Atlantis found?

Satellite photographs showing concentric rings and what appear to be the traces of rectangular buildings in a salt marsh on the southern Spanish coast match Plato's description of the lost city. Other factors, such as proximity to the copper-rich Sierra Morena mountains further fit Plato's descriptions. Field research is currently underway to confirm a date range for the site, which rests in Donana national park.

[thanks to Alan Loomis]

Dangerous Liaisons at the Met.

Dangerous Liaisons focuses on dress and its aesthetic interplay with art, furniture, and the broader decorative arts between 1750 and 1789. Presented in the dramatic setting of The Wrightsman Galleries, the Museum's French period rooms, the exhibition explores the dressed body's spatial negotiation of the 18th-century interior as a choreography of seduction and erotic play. The coquettish Polonaise dress with its hem raised to reveal the ankle is juxtaposed with a side table that transforms into a dressing table through mechanisms similar to the gown's hidden ties. The arch of the foot introduced by shoes with a Louis-style heel is seen with the scrolling legs of tables and chairs from the period shod in ormolu sabots. Lavish banyans, the "undress" of 18th-century rakes, and fans, an accessory that could be wielded with both decorous and flirtatious intent, are presented as the favored modes of beguilement of the 18th-century man about town and his femme du monde counterpart.

In honor of next week's Les Infants Terribles theme night, Chad Clark submits his top 30 S&M songs:

Brian Eno - Baby's On Fire
David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Bryan Ferry - Slave To Love
Cramps - Dames, Booze, Chains and Boots
Genitorturers - Pleasure In Restraint
John Zorn - Elegant Spanking
My Life With Thrill Kill Kult - Leathersex
Nina Hagen - Revolution Ballroom
Sisters of Mercy - Kiss The Carpet
LondonAfterMidnight - The Bondage Song
Lunachicks - Buttplug
Rammstein - Bück Dich (BendDown)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Melt
Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog
Pansy Division - James Bondage
Adam & the Ants - Rubber People
AC/DC - Mistress for Christmas
Berlin - Sex (I'm A)
Babes in Toyland - He's My Thing
Dead Can Dance - The Lotus Eaters
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Fetish
Betty Bondage – Lolita
Die Form - Slavesex
Tubes - Don't Touch Me There
TheNormal - Warm Leatherette
Grace Jones - Sex Drive
Sex Pistols - Submission
Gitane Demone - ...For You
Die Ärzte - Sweet Sweet Gwendoline
Bondage Fruit - IV

(Depeche Mode's Master and Servant was apparently too obvious.)

Core77 snagged #5 on STEP's top 10 design portal list. Congrats to Stu and Eric, who practically invented the whole notion of design portals way back '95.

This makes 2 out of 10 sites that made the list despite my contributions. :) Honestly though, Computerlove deserves a nod for having the best interface on the whole web.

Links links links to keep you busy all afternoon at the recently updated Well Vetted.

Archinect ranked #2 web portal by STEP Magazine. Big congrats to Paul Petrunia! K10K took the top prize. (No word on where Burnlab fell in rankings...)

Speaking of corrupting classics... click and hold onto your lunch.

More Corrupted Classics.

Things I will catch shit about this week:

1) I still get weepy-eyed every single time I listen to Nothing Better.
2) Totally addicted to Hot N Ready.

Your heard it here first (unless your name is Mike Servito or were eavesdropping at the Magas show a couple hours ago):

We're proud to announce the next edition of Les Infants Terribles will feature a rare DJ set by Ian Clark a.k.a. Perspects on Friday, June 18th at The Peacock in Detroit. More details soon.

Hell just got a little more crowded.

To be fair, as twisted as some of his policies were, at least the Gipper truly believed he was doing the right thing for the country... and he wasn't a total wack-job egomaniacal psychopath with the IQ of toast and the people skills of a catfish. Compared to what we have now, Ron was a saint... but that's purely contextual. Really, the qualities that earned Reagan so much respect, such as thoughtfulness, introspection, honesty (well, some of the time), are truly noble, and the complete lack of these qualities in the current regime are what make it so uttelry despicable.

Going behind the backs of the congress and the American people with shady deals while plunging the nation into record deficit to further an ideological battle which was truly pointless, the incredibly flawed trickle down economic scheme which drove a huge wedge between the classes while doing no real good for the nation's finances, and being utterly insensitive to all who didn't follow his moral code are more than enough to mark Reagan's term in office as one of the most embarrassing for the country. But he was charming, and he was intelligent, and he was true to his beliefs.

There. I guess I said some nice things.

He's still going to hell.

Maybe just one of the upper rings. They're saving a special spot for G.W. in the 9th ring. Hitler is waiting for his new cellmate, and he's got a woody just thinking about it. They're going to get along so well.

Perfect evening for a drive. Skipped out of the office at the unheard of hour of 6pm and went searching for twisty roads. A brisk lap around Orchard Lake hit the spot. Sunny and 70, windows and sunroof open, electric butt-warmer on low, and nothing but the sound of wind and a big Swedish turbocharger inhaling and exhaling. Nice. (Yeah, I got a new car. Black of course. Pretty excited. Already thinking about some mild modifications though, but will probably refrain form the graphics used on the blue one.) On a side note, I'm looking for a passenger side headlight assembly for the red '89 turbo. Preferably for less than the $250 retail price. :P
Oh, yeah, and a hood too - er, bonnet.

I dug this one up especially for today's Detroit discussion on Archinect: Monorail, wave of the future.

As evidence of just how tight the backside code of Archinect V2 is, all the news comments regarding the previous post have been moved to a the public discussion forum with a little click click from Mr. Petrunia. Fancy. Click.

I seem to have sparked a pretty interesting discussion on Archinect today with a news post about the redevelopment of Detroit and Governor Granholm's "cool cities" initiative. Read here, and be sure to check the links about Richard Florida's theories on urban development posted by Alan Loomis in the comments section.

It had to happen. Designer trading cards. Cranbrook 3-D Design major Shirley Liao introduced Designstars as "a serious, yet playful look at the commodification of identity," during the 2003 Milan Furniture Fair. A second, sleeker edition made its debut a few weeks ago at the ICFF in New York. Collect them all! You know you want to.

What I Like About You.
Lineup for the Detroit Tastefest just announced. Highlights include Electric Six, The Sights, Carl Craig, Ryan Elliot, John Acquaviva, The Romantics(!) and many more.

[Thanks to our friends at Motor City Rocks]

Just in: Ryan Elliot's top 10 for May (shouldn't it be June?)
Seek, find, enjoy.
Better yet, go hear Ryan and Matt at Oslo this Friday.

1. Panash/ Jack 2 Jack (Jesper Dahlback Rmx.)/ Turbo
2. Peter Grummich/ What About Love/ Boot
3. Mathew Jonson/ Decompression/ Minus
4. Hakan Lidbo/ Clockwise (Matthew Dear Rmx.)/Shitkatapult
5. G. Avitabile/ Tel Aviv/ Aser EP/ Platzhirsch
6. Matthew Dear/ And In The Night/ Backstroke EP/Spectral
7. Robag Wruhme/ Wuzzelbud KK/ Musik Krause
8. Mathew Jonson/ Ultraviolet Dream/ Decompression EP/Minus
9. Sten/ Frost/ Restless EP/ Sender
10. Ada/ Bum Bum/ Rabimmel Rabammel EP/ Areal

Still Dancing At The AfterParty.......

Turner/ After Work (Roman Flugal Rmx.)/ Ladomat
Peter Grummich/ No Reason/ Searoom EP/ Spectral

- Ryan

I am so all over that Dirtbombs cover of Lost Love.
I swear I have to get a record player.

IDSA Fight Club

More new releases of note:

Ersatz Audio and Cass Records present a limited edition and hand-numbered split 7", split between ADULT. and The Dirtbombs. Not only does each band cover one of the other's early songs, but photography and distribution is split between the two. Aptly titled split/split/split, look for it in finer records stores or directly through the two lables on June 15th.

Also hitting the streets on June 15th is the all new G.D. Luxxe LP, Between Zero and Eternity, his first release on Ersatz Audio. Unlike the new Rother album [see previous post], Gerhard Potuznik strays away from his earlier electro-pop work in lieu of a rougher, guitar-oriented sound (still kept in check by the rhythm of machines, of course.) "...this new album abounds with aural altercations and 'effected' affections. Revenge, regret, and corruption." It was not at all what I expected form the man who wrote the dreamy pop classic Quiet Life, but I quite enjoy the new direction.

Nu Elektro godfather Anthony Rother's new album Popkiller is decidedly more extroverted and dare I say 'poppy' than his earlier, more purist material - influenced more than a bit by his own Little Computer People project. The vocals are mainly vocoder-free and there's a hint of gnarzy acid sounds throughout. Good things, I think. A perfect companion for that Alter Ego record you just picked up. Availiable stateside from Forced Exposure.

Also just released, DNA on DNA, the essential collection of work from Arto Lindsay's brief-lived but hugely influential No Wave band. This is the first time DNA material has been available on CD. The package includes all of their studio recordings, select live recordings, several unreleased tracks and a 16 page booklet. (I'm kind of surprised Dan wasn't responsible for this.)

No rest for the wicked.
Hot off a huge showing at and around the Movement Festival, the Ghostly crew is busy busy the next couple weeks. This Friday, 6/4 Matthew Dear and kindly maniac Ryan Elliot take over our favorite new sushi bar/night club Oslo. Next Monday, 6/7 will be the live NYC debuts for Matthew Dear (singing), Dykehouse (full rock band), and Geoff White's Aeroc project at Joe's Pub. Flyer here. Next Friday, 6/11 is Music From the Wires For the Ears Vol. IV, at the Magic Stick in Detroit with Greg Davis, Lusine and Adam's Castle. Then its back to NYC again for Spectral Sessions at APT with Jeff Samuel, Derek Plaslaiko and Hieroglyphic Being on Tuesday, 6/15.

Speaking on NYC, it was a real treat to hear east coast techno-industrial vanguard and Sonic Groove co-founder Adam X twice this weekend. Pretty much everything was a blur after he dropped the Sisters of Mercy's This Corrosion Sunday night.

In addition to the overwhelming amount of great music over the holiday, the Mrs. and I got a chance to see Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes. Two thumbs up. (But what else would you expect?) All the hype you may have heard about Bill Murray's role is true. Also, try to spot the location shot at Galapagos in Brooklyn - which may throw you because the scene is supposedly in Los Angeles.