Invasion pt 1.

CHICAGO!!!


So have not really had a chance to travel this month, mostly because I have had a slew of visitors come my way. My DC dudes, Dana and Tim, and their boy, Dante drove out for the Cubs home opener, which the the Cubs lost in typical Cubby fashion (leading the whole game only to give the go ahead runs up on a grandslam in the end). The timing was not exactly awesome in that I had to work a majority of the days they were here, but we still got some quality time in-I showed em my favorite places to eat and drink (Rootstock, Skylark, M Burger, Smallbar, Rainbo Club, and Club Foot), looked at some art, and walked around downtown a good bit. In the end Tim got to bring home, like 10 cases of Old Style (which for some perverse reason he loves the taste of), so all in all, I
will consider their trip a success for them, and stuff.



ART!!!

So if you have not been to the Art Institute recently, go, because it is snapping the fuck off. There are currently four super-interesting (m dash?) exhibits. One of which I will talk about now and the other I will leave for my next posting. So right now the Tute is showing off Judith Neisser's private art collection. Evidently, besides being richer than god, Judith is a critic and writer with a primary focus on architecture and design, who collect contemporary international art. This shit is so fascinating to me for a number of reasons-1. you never get to see private art collections in museums. 2. You can't help but reflect on collections in general, a private collection is by it's own definition private and personal. So it's interesting to look at the artists and works that Neissler was drawn to purchase and try to figure out what this group of art works says about her personality. Did she actually like that Sol LeWitt, or did she just think it would look rad above her couch in her living room. 3. One is inspired, almost compulsively, to think about what their own private art collections would look like if money were no object; I personally would have a lot more photography and a lot less minimalism, but it's hard to incorporate photography and non-minimalistic into a coherent design, which also get you to thinking about the context arts surroundings (home vs galleries) has on art . 5. It's really cool to see some non-museum quality works by famous artists. Like, oh, that's what a pencil sketch by Gerhard Richter looks like, or, snap, a Luc Tuyman water color. Anyway, it's neat, check it out.


MUSIC!!!

So here it is, the latest installment in my top ten records of 2010, numero tres- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti-BEFORE TODAY. Now I'm not sure if y'all are familiar with APHG, but it is a musical project that started out as Ariel Pink (low-fi home recording of songs mostly composed of found noises, from t.v. adverts to sounds created by his armpits) that, secondary to the attention of PAW TRACKS (animal collectives record label), has morphed into a full band of established super talented musicians. Before Yesterday is one of the most unique sounding works I have ever heard in my life. It's like spirit vision of thrown away scraps of late 70's early 80's outside pop. The songs are little contradictions, infectiously tight melodies created by sprawling nonsensical sounds and pitches-tied together by circular counter bass melodies and driving percussion. The album is a euphoric experience, both simple and and complex at the same time, that I encourage you all to try at least once. If you like falsetto, weird sounds, and super poppy bass, this is for you!

NYC c BR & LBJ

TRAVEL!!!

So I just got back, figuratively, from an epic weekend in NYC, celebrating the eminent union of two of my favorite people in the world, Brandon and Laurel. Now, the initial question that pops into my head when some says, oh it's a joint bachelor/bachelorette party, is, which of the couple doesn't have their own friends? In this case it was Laurel-just kidding. In this situation, with this particular couple, because they have no respect for the gender construct and have been together so long, and are so close with each others friends, they decided to do it together, destination style in the center of the universe. They rented up a an apartment in the lower east side, invited all of their loved ones (scattered around this great country), and opted to play some group bedbug roulette. Because the celebration was more than one day, and there were so many sleeping receptacles involved, it was more of a elastic group bonding experiment than anything else that might be considered organized. Needless to say, I came back loving my friends more than ever, and absolutely, can not, can not wait for this wedding.

ART!!!

So, sadly, I was not as active on the museum tip as I normally am when visiting NYC, with the hipping and the hopping, ripping and the rapping. I did manage to make it to one and got turned on to some pretty cool stuff which I will gladly share with y'all. So, because I made Pavan call in sick on that Monday, as to get some quality time in with the dude. I let Pavan pick out our museum, and, of course, he gladly selected his favorite jump, The Rubin Museum of the Himalayas. One of the exhibits going on right now (until April 11, get on it NewYorkers!), was a pretty cool collection of contemporary artists, who are influenced by Buddhist philosophy, called grain of emptiness. My favorite dude had to be this photographer/installation artist, Atta Kim. Pavan and I were lucky enough to make it to the Rubin before his Ice Sculpture of a Buddha had melted away-evidently, it started out 5 feet in height, placed on purple velvet covered pedestal in a class container. Patrons were encouraged to touch the sculpture and take the melted water home in containers for whatever purpose they saw fit (presumably for watering house plants or to be reintroduced into the universe in one way or another). What better salutation to impermanence than an ice sculpture? Anywho, I was much more into dude's photography, which included two repeated processes-long exposures or the layering or multiple images to create a new image. The long exposures, were of street scenes, shot over 8 hours- one of Indian street market, the other of Times Squares, where the foot and street traffic turns into wavy blurs relative in significance proportionally to the length of their participation in the picture. The layering pics were either portraits composed of hundreds of pictures of Tibetan Men or Women creating the prototypical representation of either subject mater; or the amalgamation of an artists works, like every Botticelli
painting ever fused into a weird color scape. Fun Stuff.




FOOD!!!

If you are ever in Woodside, Queens, you have got to stop by this amazing Thai spot, called, SriPraPhai. Some say it's the best Thai Restaurant in NYC, which basically means, it's the best Thai Restaurant in the world, right? Anyway, checked this place out after Mark and me got absolutely demolished in bowling by Kareem and Pavan. It took us 30 minutes to decide what to order, we got like five apps and 3 entrees, and finished it all. My favorite was probably a fried watercress dish,or their papaya salad, or their dumplings, which were all made to perfection. Go in a big group and taste everything. It looks like they have really nice outdoor seating, too.

MUSIC!!!
There is light at the end of the tunnel that I can almost make out with my eyes! Number 4 on my top 10 favorite albums from 2010 is Sufjan Stevens, The Age of Adz. 5 years after his critically acclaimed, Come On Feel The Illinois, little Sujan decided to flip his switch, so to speak. And give up his bread and butter-banjo and trumpet, for electronic/orchestral composition in a concept album inspired by the apocalyptic artwork of schizophrenic artist Royal Robertson. I can not get enough of Steven's sweet, sweet, voice, and this album shows it off in it's various incarnations sublimely. No camp or gimmicks, I was skeptical at first, of Sufjan going electronic, but, he aggregates noise and sound, with savant skill of Lee Perry. Lyrically, The Age of Adz, is a reconciliation of existence, mental illness/wellness, and interpersonal connections lost and found-very thoughtful and less straight forward than Steven's previous works. Either you will love it or hate, hit the link and give it a try one way or another and if you get the chance, as always, give it a listen on vinyl-it always sounds better.