I include here what I have found that is good on the net this week, as is the custom every Friday on this blog (a tiny drop in the Internet universe). I have spent most of the week working on my thesis and I must admit, working during the summer holidays is brilliant. I am working much faster than I usually do and I think it has something to do with almost being alone at university and having no extra duties; teaching, seminars, marking, workshops, visits, demonstrations, meetings, conferences, and so on....
Now for the media, I loved the Sun City Girls (Torch of the Mystics changed my life), and still do. Despite the passing of Charlie the drummer (sadly) the Bishop brothers are still playing and we begin this week's downloads with two acoustic versions of SCG classics (one of them is The Shinning Path from the Mystics album of 1990).In fact here's a video of Richard Bishop doing the title song recently:
Alan and Richard Bishop (Mp3s)
The Bishop Brothers from Sun City Girls doing acoustic versions of two SCG songs, Rookoobay and The Shinning Path. "The dual acoustic style fits easy to a catalog built on a lack of fidelity and a street side recording quality and though Goucher will definitely be missed its comforting to know that the spirit of Sun City will live on into the future."
Open Culture
What a find this blog is.
Open Culture explores cultural and educational media (podcasts, videos, online courses, etc.) that’s freely available on the web, and that makes learning dynamic, productive, and fun. We sift through all the media, highlight the good and jettison the bad, and centralize it in one place. Trust us, you’ll find engaging content here that will keep you learning and sharp. And you will find it much more efficiently than if you spend your time searching with Google, Yahoo or iTunes.
70 Signs of Intelligent Life at YouTubeThe first gem I found from OpenCulture. Smart video collections keep appearing on YouTube. But rather antithetical to the ethos of its parent company (Google), YouTube unfortunately makes these collections difficult to find. So we’ve decided to do the job for them. These enriching/educational videos come from media outlets, cultural institutions, universities and non-profits. There are about 70 collections in total, and the list will grow over time. If we’re missing anything good, feel free to let us know, and we’ll happily add them.
Films - Umeå 2014
The students who study digital media production (DMT) at Umeå University (my place of work) have created films for Umeå 2014. Umeå is aiming to be the Cultural Capital for Europe in 2014. Six groups of DMT students were asked to make a short film showing what is unique about Umeå- these are the films. Some nice footage of where I live.(everything after the link is in Swedish but the pictures are not)
Audio Anarchy Archive
Audio Anarchy is a project for transcribing anarchist books into audio format.
Hopefully, this can help make anarchist texts and ideas more accessible. Beyond the obvious appeal for people who don't like to read (or don't have time to read in this busy on-the-go world), hearing a book read aloud can also be enjoyable.
The Audio Anarchy project is organized in a distributed way. Instead of having a single person or group of people read an entire book, different people read separate chapters to distribute the work load. Ideally, this site will do more to help facilitate that kind of organization in the future.
Garden Of Delights: V.A. - African Scream Contest - Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s (2008)
After releases by Zimbabwean 70s bands the Green Arrows and Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, the Analog Africa label now delves into the amazing history of music from 1970s Benin and Togo. This compilation highlights forgotten raw and psychedelic Afro sounds, and the well-researched liner notes tell fascinating stories to accompany the mind-blowing music. The essence of Analog Africa is clear; searching in dusty warehouses for forgotten music to keep the sound alive. Label owner & vinyl collector Samy Ben Redjeb arrived in Cotonou, Benin, "without any special expectations, just hoping to lay my hands on few good records--what I found in the process cannot really be described in words".
Like most modern music in French-speaking West African countries, the music of Benin and Togo was influenced by a few main musical currents: Cuban, Congolese and local traditional music, as well as Chanson Francaise. Additionally, the geographical location of Benin and Togo--sandwiched between Ghana and Nigeria--exposed Beninese and Togolese musicians to Highlife music.
U B U W E B - Film & Video: Nam June Paik: Edited for Television (1975)
Produced for public television station WNET/Thirteen in New York, Nam June Paik: Edited for Television is a provocative portrait of the artist, his work and philosophies. This fascinating document features an interview of Paik by art critic Calvin Tompkins (who wrote a New Yorker profile of the artist in 1975) and ironic commentary by host Russell Connor. Taped in his Soho loft, with the multi-monitor piece Fish Flies on Sky suspended from the ceiling, Paik elliptically addresses his art and philosophies in the context of Dada, Fluxus, the Zen Koan, John Cage, Minimal art, information overload and technology. "I am a poor man from a poor country, so I have to entertain people every second," states Paik. Excerpts from his works include Suite 212 and Electronic Opera Nos. 1 and 2; Charlotte Moorman performing TV Bra for Living Sculpture, and Moorman and Paik performing excerpts from Cage's 26'1.1499" for String Player in 1965. On a guided tour of his loft, Paik discusses the prototype of the Paik-Abe Synthesizer and demonstrates his early altered television sets and video sculptures.
U B U W E B - Film & Video: Tracey Moffatt two films: 'Nice Colored Girls' and 'Night Cries - A Rural Tragedy'
Tracey Moffatt (b. 1960 Australia) is an artist who continues to challenge the social construction of Aboriginality and how it is nationally and internationally viewed.
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