In an interview with himself — which you can read more about past the jump — The Doors frontman Jim Morrison noted that the self-interview is the “essence of creativity.” After compiling a series of fascinating conversations that some of the world’s biggest cultural icons had with themselves, we wholeheartedly agree. Does the idea of a self-interview seem too self-absorbed or controlling? Possibly — but we found that the format allowed for a lot of self-deprecating humor, artistic expression, and compelling self-reflection. In each case there seems to be a clear method to the madness. Past the break, watch and read as artists, writers, and musicians share their most personal thoughts on their career, search for answers to difficult questions, and charm us with their eccentricities. Did we miss your favorite self-interview? Feel free to leave your picks in the comments below.
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The always interesting David Byrne has created an interactive music-based installation created from a grid of 96 guitar effects pedals. The uber colorful creation rests simply on the floor and invites people to literally walk all over it. The pedals are wired together, along with a guitar and amplifier, creating various layered sound effects that build the more it’s experimented with. The piece is playful and quirky and everything you’d expect from the Talking Heads frontman. Step on it (in video form) past the break. Read More »
The Occupy movement is famous for welcoming anyone who wants to join. But you can’t help but wonder if, for campers who’ve endured taunts and snow and pepper spray, some musical guests are more welcome than others. Yes, it’s a thrill to see Philip Glass using the people’s mic at Lincoln Center, but too many of the celebrities who visit OWS seem (at the risk of being uncharitable) to be using its fame for their own good instead of vice-versa. One wonders, for instance, how many impassioned discussions of banking regulations and foreclosure statistics were ever interrupted by the comment, “You know who I’d love to hear right now? Third Eye Blind.”
With that in mind, we offer ten dream concerts for OWS — double bills of music that’s relevant and rousing, from artists (unlike these movement-friendly newcomers) with enough name recognition to draw both fans and media attention to Zuccotti Park, or anywhere else the 99 percent are trying to make themselves heard. Read More »
1. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (Blades of Glory) are in talks to develop an animated film for Universal that’s based on the classic cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. Do the kids of today even know who he is? [via Slashfilm]
2. Steven Spielberg has decided to widen the focus of his Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which was previously devoted exclusively to the memory of Holocaust survivors, to also include testimonies on other mass killings, including those of Armenians and Cambodians. [via NYT]
3. Jeopardy! contestant Roger Craig recently had the most lucrative game in the show’s history. How’d he do it? With some help from a web app that he developed, and then trained himself on. [via Gawker]
4. NBC has ordered a pilot of Bryan Fuller’s remake of The Munsters; unlike the original show, his version will be “an hour-long series exploring how the monster house came about” and “will have a darker and less campy feel.” [via EW]
5. A few of the tracks that Will Oldham and David Byrne composed for the This Must Be the Place soundtrack — the crazy looking movie where Sean Penn plays a Nazi hunter who looks just like Robert Smith — are now streaming here.
Bonus Buzz: Why Pandas Are Black And White
Merely approaching the field of art involving modifying and inventing instruments gives us a pleasant anxiety. There’s so much out there! Violins that play records. Artists that play buildings. Beats that play artists. Seems like magic happens when these mediums of creation entwine, but these few sound and look so amazing, it’s positively seductive. From replicas of Hieronymus Bosch’s surreal harp-lutes to Pierre Bastien’s tiny, mechanical orchestras, here are just a few functioning, artist-created instruments that we’d love to strum, bang, and play.
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We admit, we’re suckers for this kind of thing — but we imagine some of you are too, so we hope you’ll forgive us. Levi’s has partnered with food activist Alice Waters, along with Sophia Coppola, Dave Eggers, David Byrne and Maira Kalman, to create a mini collection of t-shirts to benefit Waters’ great Edible Schoolyard project, a national initiative that teaches grade-school children about growing and making healthy food. The t-shirts, which sell for $30 a pop, are 100% organic, and feature plantable tags (with organic seeds, even!) for maximum environmental friendliness. Click through to see the designs, and head here to buy your own.
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Is it just us, or is that David Byrne always up to something clever? For his latest contribution to the cultural zeitgeist, the Talking Heads frontman dreamed up a group of absurd fake iPhone apps that totally made our morning — if only they were real! Click through to check out the screenshots, and if you live in New York, head over to The Pace Gallery beginning on September 16 to see Byrne’s work on display in a group show titled Social Media, which will also include pieces by Miranda July and Christopher Baker.
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From subway ads to blog posts to TV shows, the average American must see hundreds of celebrity photos a week. But just when we think we can’t stomach even one more, Booooooom points us to the captivating work of Antony Crook, whose low-key photographs tend to find their artist subjects in introspective moments and poses that reveal much about their personalities. David Byrne, for example, seems almost angelic, wearing all white and posing against high, white-trimmed city windows, with a multicolored array of effects pedals at his feet. Click through for a gallery of our favorite Crook photos, including portraits of Marina Abramović, Malcolm McLaren, Rufus Wainwright, Tim Burton, and more. Then be sure to visit his website, where you should also check out his otherworldly landscapes.
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Rolling Stone, bless them, republished their list of “The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s” on their website this week. The feature – originally published in 1989 – makes for strange and occasionally bewildering reading. For a start, it’s topped by The Clash’s London Calling, which is undeniably a masterwork but also was undeniably released in 1979 (and no, we’re not buying the January 1980 US release date as an excuse here). Now, we know better than anyone that lists are always subjective, and whatever you include people are going to complain (hey, it’s actually nice to be complaining about someone else’s lists for once). And admittedly, we’re evaluating this list with the benefit of 20 years of hindsight. But even so, there are some glaring omissions from RS’s selection – here are 10 records that really should have featured somewhere near the top, but didn’t feature at all.
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In Paolo Sorrentino’s forthcoming film, This Must Be The Place, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival next month, Sean Penn plays an aging rocker — who looks a hell of lot like The Cure’s Robert Smith — on the hunt for ex-Nazi war criminal who killed his father. And now you can hear his character’s band in action! While David Byrne, who composed the soundtrack with Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy) performs the titular Talking Heads song at one point in the film, we think it sounds more like Oldham’s voice in this clip. Or maybe that’s actually Penn singing? After Colin Farrell’s solid turn as a country star in Crazy Heart, nothing would surprise us. What do you think?
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