cover girl: “the model” track by kraftwerk re-covered by jihae

you can not appreciate electronic music without considering ralf hütter and florian schneider as simply divine. this track, by our lovely friend jihae, is a beautiful cover of the original and then some. the video features actress and sometimes model paz de la huerta (from HBO’s boardwalk empire), and is directed by another one of our friends, the russian born photographer/painter yelena yemchuk. last the piece is being posted here by our great friend and lovely colleague dd… sorry, we have a shortage of friends, so when we find them we have to mention it. track available on itunes under jihae model from album “fire burning rain”. by dd

history of hip hop: tougher than leather, run dmc


add that to the greats. i was never a hip hop fan and i’m still not. hip hop to me, lacked everything i loved about reggae and embodied everything i hated about pop. hip hop started in bronx when jamaican transplants brought their block parties with them to bronx. they played their 45’s and toasted over them. the kids picked that up and rap, hip hop were born. it was a form of music that required nothing but a turntable and a mic. unfortunately the consumerism of the american culture lacked the socio-political debth and street savvy of kingston and the ethereal rasta culture. so it didn’t take long before its demise, instead of social issues and a humble side of love the music became about hoes, stupid pride and money. when it was about politics it was for no more than a moment. we will spare run dmc in this categorical dis and leave the rest to suburban kids and their baggie pants from gap. by xy

something to listen to: Gillian Fisher Stabat Mater Salve Regina In Coelestibus Regnis


in case you do get the turntable, here’s one of my favorite albums of all time.  simply divine… if there is such a thing to begin with, its in this recording. the irony of it all, is that  religion (and that of all sorts) was always the one purveyor that had the funding to support the arts.  ironically, religion today is the one discipline that suppresses the very thing that it had helped build. sad indeed. by dd

crisis is upon us


great picture of the 70’s anti-nazi brit punk rock band, crisis. glorified here are lester jones, luke rendall, douglas pearce, and tony wakeford. rock on. by dd

the original occupy wall streeter: fela kuti authority stealing…

fela kuti – authority stealing (rehearsals with footage from lagos)

catch am! catch am! tief tief tief… talking about music greats… saw a nice doc. film on fela titled “fela kuti: music is the weapon” you can see parts on you tube or get the film on netflix. loved this one song which i did not have, it was released on fela’s own kalakuta label originally as no other label would touch it at the time. finally 20 years later, MCA records released it in the year 2000. i just got it and it’s been playing daily! here’s the clip from the docu and the song authority stealing. by xy