Oscillations & Strategies

[aperiodicindustries-blog]

Inflatable No. 1, By Lindsey Mysse at Aperiodic Industries.

[oscillationsandstrategies]

ParaSITE

[oscillationsandstrategies]

A thought on Occupy Wall Street

When people criticize #occupywallstreet for not having a coherent message, we can answer that our movement is about wresting control of our democracy out of the hands of a small group of people and putting it back into the hands of the many.

What do you think about this?

[oscillationsandstrategies]

[oscillationsandstrategies]

[transitmemoirs]

[oscillationsandstrategies]

The original manifesto of Osc + Strat

So, I just found the initial manifesto I wrote to guide this blog. I understand: you haven't heard any music yet. I say: yes, but you were late to the party. It happens. You have to understand this. Sometimes the best parties have HAPPENED, and you were too cool, or perhaps uncool, to show up early ( personally, as a host or a DJ, I always appreciated the early people. They were either sober or fucked up in an amusing way, but always good conversation, and curious, plus: they knew why they were there and weren't disappointed in the whole thing). I love talking to you, early people at my parties! Come soon and I will give you as much attention as I have! I will start DJing live soon, I promise, once my life is not spiraling out of control and stupidly busy and I find a gig that gives me limitless drink tickets.  The Manifesto: One of the great pleasures in my life has been playing music that people were at first unwilling, and then, traumatized to hear. Continuing on with this noble life's goal, and combining it with my need to validate my ego with the vastness and quality of the discographies I keep within my head, I have started a podcast.  The general gist of it is I mix my avant-garde and classical records like I am spinning a set of thumping electro or dubstep tracks (genres I have shamelessly exploited for cultural and fiscal capital previously) – sussing out the similarities and synergies between the tracks, shamelessly re-editing to match my whim and need.  I am sure that the original composers of these fine testaments to human achievement that I slice and dice willy nilly are spinning in their graves as much as my records are. I am sure a few purists might find this modern quodlibet distressing, pretentious, or perhaps aggressively annoying. I am sure a few of my pop-loving friends will get the idea of a mash-up, but find the source material alien and distressing. I am sure listening to this podcast will turn you into an even more insufferable jerk than I am.  But, then, I've always led you all astray, haven't I? One more wrong alley isn't going to cause any more moral or spiritual damage to you, is it?  Enjoy,  Lindsey Carl Mysse

[oscillationsandstrategies]

I used to be roommates with one of the guys in this band (I could name names, but it seems anonymity is sort of their thing). He goes by Arthur Aircraft in Wolf in a Spacesuit.

I remember when we were roomies he was a hardcore William S. Burroughs and Captain Beefheart fan, and his music at the time showed it. We tried writing songs together, but I could never figure out what he meant when he tried to describe what he wanted the song to be. I do remember many nights spent drinking and listening to Hank Williams with him. 

Somewhere down the line Mr. Aircraft started using a laptop and his music started flowering-- though I still didn’t really get it.  When he mentioned he had a new band and a new single I checked it out as a friend. What I got was Bark of the Cedar. A disjointed, aggressive and bizarre mash of excellent pop vocals, rocking guitars and a truly cracked take on song structure and pacing. 

Collaborations, when they are done well, are interesting things. I suspect I know which parts Arthur Aircraft brings to the band: the disjointed song structures, the arch humor/poignance, the rocking guitar work. But Algebra Huxley, with his opaque lyrics and truly lovely voice, adds a sheen to Mr. Aircrafts disjointed cut-up style. 

I know that Mr. Aircraft hasn’t been around much in the Wolf In A Spacesuit camp lately, and their music has begun to spin in an interesting direction of lo-fi dance-pop direction, which I like. But I personally like a good piece of collage, and hope Wolf don’t stray too far towards normalcy. 

I can't bear to link to their myspace page, as myspace crashes my computer and I don't want to do the same to you. But their tumblr is here, and it has a bunch of little gems there that show the hard work and sketches of serious artists. Their bandcamp is here.

Ad Astra, you curs. 

[oscillationsandstrategies]

Missing Technology

As many of you have noticed, the mixes that were once on this site are now no longer loading. We were using drop.io to host our files, but once they were sold to Facebook they stopped providing their services. We are currently looking for a new service that will work for us (Soundcloud is a possibility, though our plunderphonic ways certainly wouldn't make us any friends there). 

We will be getting some new mixes to you soon. 

Cheers. 

________

edit: I have switched to dropbox, so the mixes should be up in downloadable form. Cheers! 

[transitmemoirs]

[oscillationsandstrategies]

Thank you for your amazing compliments! It meant a lot to me.

I wouldn't say them if I didn't mean them! 

[purry]

[oscillationsandstrategies]

My notebook I am doing for the Sketchbook Project 2011 is on the theme of "Great Hopes and Massive Failures", two things I have intimate and extensive experience with. My old acquaintance (and excellent musician and artist) Nathan is doing one, also. He is an excellent inksmith, has one of the prettiest voices I've ever heard, and currently lives in Portland, OR (you should go see him play music sometime! Which is actually the only way I know him...).  I will start posting my work on this project soon, but probably at Parasitical Colloguing, my personal blog.

purry:

“I would like to be braver”From the sketchbook I am doing for The Sketchbook Project 2011.

[oscillationsandstrategies]

My friend Grace Chang is a designer in Los Angeles, CA. Her blog, "The Howard Roark Manifesto" is a catalog of her works. I cannot recommend subscribing enough. Her work is, yes, a little bit Frank Gehry and a little bit Ice Cube. Tell her I said "hi!"

[oscillationsandstrategies]

Ode on Solitude (no. 28)

Jacques Brel – Ces Gens La

Scott Walker – Bolivia ‘95

Gyorgi Ligeti – String Quartet No. 2

Mario Davidovsky – Synchronization no. 5

Burial – Dog Shelter

Brian Eno and Robert Fripp – Swastika Girls

Shubert – from Wintereisse 

David Sylvian – A Fire in the Forest

Download

[toscanini-blog]

[oscillationsandstrategies]

This is what I did this weekend instead of mixing Osc + Strat. 

toscanini:

The finished Alpha product being performed at the final demonstrations of Boston Music Hack Day 2010. Thanks to everyone who made this event possible! 

[zedequalszee]

As much as I detest the expression, it goes without saying that music lives at Hack Day and dies in the sinking coffin that is every major label (including those that are finally, reluctantly employing these technologies). But if you need further evidence, consider that SoundCloud and Echo Nest are hiring like mad, while the last three A&Rs who tried to sign your band are squeegeeing soiled stalls at Peep World. Meanwhile, the geniuses they once called thieves spent Saturday night at Echo Nest’s Davis Square offices partying with Javelin and toasting the wacky notion that sharing is a more effective strategy than suing.

From Chris Faraone’s roundup of last weekend’s Music Hack Day, in the Boston Phoenix. (via zedequalszee)

[jiachi]

m&a_light frames_saturday, october 16_4-6pm

[oscillationsandstrategies]

jiachi:

this Saturday is the opening reception of Light Frames at M&A, from 4-6pm.  Been working on this installation with Gail Peter Borden for the past 3 weekends.  it looks pretty great.  www.emanate.org

ps. i got beer donated! but i’m keeping it backstage; come help me drink it. 

“bouncy castle” blowers will inflate the plastic chapel.