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This post appeared on PSFK last week | It's actually appeared in more places than we can count at this point | Despite all the flack that Mr.Hubran has been getting, it's pretty to cool to consider tech gadgets as a next iteration of body piercings; it's really only a matter of time:
Dave Hurban’s video on Youtube generated 900,000 views in two weeks, when he debuted his body piercing at a convention in Baltimore | The professional body piercer created a buzz with his strapless music player by implanting 4-magnetic studs (called microdermal anchors) under his skin | This enables him to place an iPod Nano and other light gadgets on his forearms without the use of a strap | The magnets are strong enough that the music player won’t budge when he goes out for a jog.
Check out the video below to see the gadget piercing in action:
The initiative has drawn mostly positive feedback, but there are some negative comments, including criticism from the Association of Professional Piercers | Much of the responses can be seen here on Tumblr.
Recognizing just how “different” this type of modification is, Hurban told NBC that he does not plan on continuing to use only Apple products | We look forward to see what other brands and lightweight gadgets Dave Hurban works with next.
The most covered song of all time is rumored to be “My Way”, one of Frank Sinatra’s signature numbers, perhaps the most beloved of his entire catalog, as you probably already know | Everyone who covers the song is covering Sinatra’s song, but the song isn’t his | Frank himself was singing a cover, a song written and first performed by Paul Anka | Anka thought it would be perfect for Old Blue Eyes, so sent the song his way | A good idea, except Anka’s original sounded a lot like someone else’s song | Claude Francois’ to be exact, the French singer’s big hit, “Comme d’habitude”.
It turns out Anka took Francois’ melody and just came up with his own English lyrics, which happened to be nearly the opposite of Francois’, whose song translates to “As Usual” | And Anka wasn’t even the first to take a crack at reappropriating the French hit | Before Anka remade “As Usual” his way, a young David Bowie was hired to pen English lyrics to the tune | Bowie’s version, called “Even a Fool Learns to Love”, wasn’t quite finished when “My Way” came out, and was left that way once Frank’s take became a hit.
Sinatra’s is obviously the most famous cover of the song, but there are over 150 other versions in existence, from Elvis, Jay-Z, Sid Vicious, Shane McGowan, Nina Hagan, Nina Simone, and French death metal band Mütiilation, who opted for Anka’s English lyrics instead of the original French.
Speaking of death, if not metal, “My Way” is also the sendoff song of choice, having been played at more British funerals than any other, including, according to J.K. Rowling, Dumbledore’s, or it is at least the song she would most want played there.
The song has ties to death in other ways too… death by karaoke. “My Way” is a karaoke standard all over the world, but in the Philippines, performance of the song at karaoke bars has led to a number of violent incidents, including a string of murders known in the press as the “My Way” killings | Karaoke is everywhere in the Philippines, even outdoor karaoke machines in the rural countryside where men gather to sing in the early morning | Yet no karaoke is more intense than in the country’s many karaoke bars, and for Filipino karaoke regulars, “My Way” has become a show of bravado | On several occasions, poorly sung renditions of the song have caused violent reactions from the crowd, and the ensuing brawls have involved stabbings and gunfire | At least six have died in the last decade from the song being sung, and it is now banned from most playlists, still considered dangerous. Where the song is still available, there is a solemn weight to the choice, one most singers prefer to avoid.
There are a number of theories as to why the song has caused such violence | Some attribute the incidents more to the violent and competitive Filipino culture, the pride many men have in their singing prowess, along with the usual troublesome mix of alcohol and temper, regardless of the song being sung | This is believable, given that there have been non-“My Way” karaoke deaths in the Philippines, as well as in nearby Malaysia and Thailand, including a Thai man who killed eight people over John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. Yet, there remains a great deal of superstition around “My Way”, and even the biggest fans of Old Blue Eyes refuse the risk | Butch Albarracin, owner of a school for singing in Manila called Center for Pop, sees the root of the problem in the smugness of the song’s lyrics | In the New York Times article that brought the legend of the “My Way” killings stateside, Albarracin is quoted as saying “The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you’re somebody when you’re really nobody. It covers up your failures | That’s why it leads to fights… ‘I did it my way’ — it’s so arrogant."
The man has a point. Anka’s words for “My Way” ring with a tone of distinctly American self-importance:
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
and did it my way!
Yes, it was my way
Of course it wasn’t his way, it was Claude Francois’, Anka just nabbed someone else’s inspiration and recast it for his own purposes, the way America invented democracy by nabbing it from the French and the Iroquois, a kind of inspiration in itself, but certainly not the standalone kind the song professes | Yet the message of self-reliance and the sanctity of the individual comes across clear enough to incite competitive Filipino violence in its honor | The song reeks of the kind of inspirational sentiment everyone’s a sucker for, the kind that tells you to be yourself, that snowflake of uniqueness | Yet no one ever sees a single snowflake, at least not close enough to tell it apart from every other snowflake falling at the same time, and in a moment’s time that snowflake has joined the pile, just hoping not to get peed on, or muddied up by the tracks of passing time | Snow is snow | You are yourself whether you are trying or not | Anka can flaunt selfness as life’s grandest achievement all he wants, but he’s bragging a given, and over someone else’s song | Perhaps he should have borrowed more from Francois, whose lyrics are better fitting for a song so often covered. The chorus goes:
It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam "MCA" Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer | He was 47 years old. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys. With fellow members Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Adrock" Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band's 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award | Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend. In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces | In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985's Live Aid | The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities. In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women's Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans – each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources. Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including "So Whatcha Want," "Intergalactic," "Body Movin" and "Ch-Check It Out." Under his own name, Yauch directed last year's Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for "Make Some Noise" from Beastie Boys' Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future. Yauch's passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin' For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy, Oren Moverman's The Messenger, Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze's Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more. Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.
Every once in a while, we get on a kick for a particular artist | Lebanese oud-master Marcel Khalife has been a long-standing part of the Middle East's music scene and he's undertaken a massive tour that covers North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa | And yes, we're attending a handful of those shows.
For those who've never encountered his music, his career dates back to the 70's, when he was infusing Middle Eastern compositions with jazz music (something that virtually no one was doing back then and even now) | His current focus seems to be on augmenting the meaning of being a musician in the Middle East | This massive undertaking means that he goes beyond songwriting into the realms of orchestration and the inclusion of poetry, which is arguably a form of expression with important distinctions from lyric-writing.
"We Arabs have no history of our music. In my judgment, we have linked music to singing, and it is time to write down the history of music, not just song."
Marcel's latest tour is titled 'Fall of the Moon' and it spotlights various works of poetry by the renowned Palestenian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who recently passed away | If you've never come across Marcel, we're happy to be your gateway to his work | Below are videos that we've incessentely had playing on repeat this month.
Hela Hela
Walk On
Caress (this performance is living proof that you can never have too many ouds)
Like any supporter of the arts we went out on Saturday in search of the elusive limited pressings released by our favorite artists on Record Store Day | Our Facebook and Twitter feeds were rife with pictures from fellow audiophiles who found themselves doing the same thing | We're glad that the tradition that began last year lived on and we have faith that it will continue to live on.
That said, we won't be taking the opportunity to brag about our RSD swag, or flaunt the booty of our friends or the community | We, actually, won't be talking about phyical vinyls at all, but rather the portrayal of vinyls and their impact on it's owners in film | It's just our way of showing that the longevity of the support of independent record stores isn't just social media marketing or creative endeavors by artists to further entice the purchase of a physical release that will keep the industry alive.
RECORDS IN POP CULTURE
Pretty in Pink (1986)
John Hughes made the protagonist Andie's job the clerk at a TRAX, a record store.
High Fidelity (2000)
This movie revolves around a record store and John Cusak's obsession with music - only in vinyl form - and it's roles in his failed relationships.
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
Ostensibly a movie about the reconcilliation of a young man's relationship with his father and his fear of admittance of his homosexuality in Catholic 1970s France | The prominent undertone of the film is the family's obsession with music, specifically the importance and sacredness of records.
Records in Documentaries
I Need that Record: The Death or the Possible Survival of the Independent Record Store (2008)
To begin with this movie shows very little optimism for the "possible survival of the independent record store." | From Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat speaking to his ever present DIY sentiments to an overtly odd conversation with Noam Chomsky this documentary, in it's own way, makes you want to buy records in the same way an NPR fund drive makes you want to pledge.
Sound It Out (2011)
The (posthumous) official film of the first Record Store Day | Chronicling the hardships faced by the last record store in a small town of Teesside, England | The documentary conjours a bit more hope in the viewer than the previous.
Vinylmania: When Life Runs at 33 Revolutions Per Minute (2012)
Although we haven't had a chance to see this flick yet, it's certainly on our radar | Touted as the official film of RSD2012, this Kickstarter project shows the reinvigoration of the vinyl industry and vinyl's inherent superiority to digital music.
It doesn't seem like Record Store Day will be going away anytime soon | The only potential issue we see came from talking to non-social media oriented individuals | Those people exist? you may be asking | Yes, and we spoke with a few of them who had heard asides on the radio or from a friend, but who had no idea what Record Store Day was | At this point we wonder if appealing to hipsters and preaching to the choir is enough or if other means of dispersement of the message - such as the films above - might need be used to truly spread the message.
Our logo has been finalized | We're so excited about the potential it offers; as we outlined in our previous post, "It didn't strike us right away, but this logo carries more significance than anything else | We love the fact we can place illustrations inside the typography | We love how it stands out when filled in | We love the way we can typographically de-emphasize the word "THE" before "MUSIC PARADE" | It's a logo that compliments and handles complex images | It's blocky, but not rigid | It has longevity because as we evolve our platform, we can rotate images in and out of our identity | Everything about it excites us." | How do you feel about the logo? What does it convey to you?
Those that provided feedback on the designs last week, thanks for your on-going support | You will start seeing some original illustration worked into the logo over the coming months guarenteed!
Every new logo design is an existential crisis | Many insights are revealed in the process of designing a logo, unless it's one of those spontaenous realizations | We worked with NYC's Orthrus Studio and UAE's Salem Al-Qassemi to figure out a new logo design that set us up for expansion | There were three major evolutions; read the below to learn about each stage!
This was the initial design we honed in on working alongside @salqass, a well-known young designer from the UAE | The logo's form is comprised of 3 simple oval circles that resemble musical notation | While the form is slick, interesting, and bold, we felt that it would be more adequate for a mobile app, rather than an animation-band | We started to probe other potential directions.
This logo was designed by @aniekanudo of NYC boutique design shop, Orthrus Studio | To make the logo a little more "rock n roll" we took inspiration from Guns N Roses emblematic shape | We also began looking at logos for cartoon shows, basketball teams, and played around with the round shape by adding texture to it | While we liked the idea of having a textured logo, it did take away from its presence when overlayed on a busy background.
It didn't strike us right away, but this logo carries more significance than anything else | We love the fact we can place illustrations inside the typography | We love how it stands out when filled in | We love the way we can typographically de-emphasize the word "THE" before "MUSIC PARADE" | It's a logo that compliments and handles complex images | It's blocky, but not rigid | It has longevity because as we evolve our platform, we can rotate images in and out of our identity | Everything about it excites us.
We heard lots of great music this month | That said, while we do a monthly round up of some of the great music we heard, they're invariably music videos | However, lots of the music we hear is only available via the videos rather than visa versa | Before we dig an unncessary hole for ourselves by underestimating the intelligence of our audience, let's just see if you can see what's happening here.
Digitals: A Musical, Sort Of by Chris Crutchfield
We've all heard this happen: the patterns of everyday life come manifest to our ears as some sort of music | Chris Crutchfield, actor and visualizer put his experience into an extremely visually enchanting experience | We loved it, and you should, too.
Adele's Rolling in the Deep Played on a Chinese Zither
A Chinese instrumentalist who goes by Jilin Province has recreated several hits on her GuZheng or Chinese Zither | She plays the melody while an electronic track holds down the rhythm and bass.
Waka Flocka Defends PETA
Waka Flocka Flame is a hardcore rapper | PETA is a hardcore animal rights organization | Say what you will about either group - as far as this video is concerned they are a match made in heaven.
Nine Inch Nails on Dance Party USA
We think it's best to let the man speak for himself: “Many years ago, a young and naive Nine Inch Nails were asked what TV shows they’d be interested in appearing on. As a joke (and likely drunk), they thought of the most absurd choice they could come up with at the time. They were then informed their bluff had been called and were actually booked on said show… They hopped in their Honda Civic touring vehicle (hatchback) and travelled many miles to (I think) NJ for the big show. They had a laugh making fun of the people, their fashion choices and hairstyles. Life was good. Years later, the internet is discovered… There’s a moral in there somewhere. Come to think of it Skrillex may indeed owe me some publishing on that hairdo…” - Trent Reznor
Brother's Create Orchestra from Market Vegetables
These two worked with what they had | Wiedong and Wieping Nan, sons of a music teacher began making these organic instruments two years ago, and are fetching a hefty tickets for their creativity.
Bohemian Rhapsody by Assailant
Many people have been arrested for public drunkeness | Robert Wilkinson is amongst their ranks | The number of them, however, that respond to their charges by belting Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen from the back of squad car is considerably less quantifiable | Enjoy.
Digital diva Hatsune Miku has sold out her four shows in Tokyo, totalling more than 10,000 eager ticket buyers. She’s a program developed by Crypton Future Media, but is received by fans as enthusiastically as human musicians. Fans that were not at the actual event packed some 24 cinemas to watch a live feed of the concert.
The computer generated, voice-synthesized, virtual singer merges the performances of over 20 people into one soundtrack. As we reported last year, Crypton records voice actors, then runs the vocal tracks through Yamaha’s Vocaloid software to create Hatsune Miku’s voice.
It should be noted that Crypton’s program can be purchased and programmed by users to have her perform any song on their computer. So while Crypton creates the motion graphics and does the development work, fans are the ones co-creating the music Hatsune Miku performs. With this tight community around the virtual superstar, we can expect more music apps and cutting edge opportunities for partners.
Invisible Children, the California based NPO whose Kony 2012 video last week became the most viral video ever have some brilliant marketers on staff | We won't be dissecting the campaign, the message of the movement or the recent actions of certain cofounders of the organization | What we're intrigued by is the obviously catered sountrack that has fans and YouTube trolls alike making associations.
In the info beneath the YouTube video there are music credits | This leads us to believe that Invisible Children paid for the rights to the songs | This investment in the music of the artists employed is valuable in and of itself, but the exposure provided may have been the real contribution.
Ghosts 1 Track 2 by Nine Inch Nails
A 2008 free release by Trent Reznor with his newly acknowledged pal Atticus Ross, Ghosts was a glimpse of what was to come | With striking similarities to their Social Network and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Sountracks, it was an unusual departure from Year Zero the year before | Reznor is a legend whose influence is truly incalculable.
Punching in a Dream by The Naked and Famous
The Aukland based indie rock band has been moving on up for some time now | In 2011 they were nominated for six awards at the New Zealand Music Awards as well a numerous other award events | Their contribution to the Kony Soundtrack has been used in several pop culture instances including FIFA 2012 which is arguably the most popular video game franchise in the world.
Arrival of the Birds by The Cinematic Orchestra
This British jazz/electro group has been creating original music for fifteen years and while their music has been featured many places, likely none has been for such a wide an audience as Kony | Originally written and recorded for the Disney Nature film The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos (that's right - Disney) the song is lovely and soothing, providing a perfect backing for the melancholic back story.
Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford and Sons
A triumphant anthem from one of the most popular British acts of 2010-2011 | Their albumSigh No More has gone 16x Platinum and with the band has won numerous awards worldwide | Their fanbase is gigantic, as is their pull.
On by Bloc Party
Bloc Party, another British group, whose popularity is not quite that of its soundtrack peers, is well known in indie circles for their obvious new age/punk influences | Their track for the Kony film was an instrumental although the original release did contain lyrics | All one needs to do is view the six most recent pages of comments to see what Kony has done for them.
A Dream Within a Dream by The Glitch Mob
The LA based electonic musicians have been featured on several notable television programs as well as the Tron: Legacy soundtrack remix | Having been working the underground LA music scene for six years now, their noteriety seems to be growing thanks to the trio's hard work and now Kony.
I Can't Stop by Flux Pavilion
Joshua Steele, yet another Brit, operating under the monicker of Flux Pavilion has Kony to thank for a singularly viral response to his soundtrack admission | With nearly 500 comments in the 24 hours before this post was written alone, the majority of which mention the Invisible Children video and/or it's now infamous co-founder, there's absolutely no question that this dubstep track was a good choice for the short film.
Unfortunately, most of the videos for the bands do not have analytics enabled, so answering this question ourselves is not conceivable, but how many of the combined 20 million views of the above videos were pre-Kony? | More importantly, how many people continued to watch the Invisible Children video because of it's brilliant pop-centric soundtrack rather than its content? | Finally, when the dust settles, who'll really come out on top - the children of Uganda or the musicians whose music helped hold the more fortunate kids' attention?
