PondaBlog

is FACT the greatest mag/site of the moment? their podcasts alone make me say a big phat yes. first up is seattle’s the sight below, who provides a lovely shoegazy mix (note the mbv t-shirt) that starts off with the perenially underrated slowdive. sure, there are  a few odd choices along the way (iggy’s “nightclubbing?” really?) but any session that ends with clan of xymox is a winner in my book.

then there are the other goodies - mixes courtesy of berlin’s techno auteur marcel dettmann and dub occultists demdike stare. and i’ve just seen that the latest mix is from ariel pink’s haunted graffiti. go on, take me i’m yours (apologies to David Gedge)…

not a bad week for releases, then. first, nearly four decades after its coked-out blues buzz crawled out of a basement in villa nellcôte, perhaps the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever in the history of the universe gets reissued. plus, there’re 10 bonus tracks that purists are griping over (see the comments section in the article) but whatevs – i’m salivating over this one. i want gram parson’s spoon though!

i was wondering how pitchfork would rate exile (yes, these thoughts actually occur to me…). lo and behold, they’ve given it the good ol’ 10-spot. but don’t let that scare you off.

then there’s mr. James Murphy, pictured above, who just happened to put out two of the past decade’s best discs. now, his third offering as lcd soundsystem – this is happening – is out and once again, it’s getting rave reviews.

the pitchfork review quotes a curious line from murphy: “I spent my whole life wanting to be cool… but I’ve come to realize that coolness doesn’t exist the way I once assumed.”

now normally, if someone told me they’d spent their whole life wanting to be cool, i’d probably run for the hills. and really, lcd’s pop-culture mining cachet and knowing winks make me almost want to not like the band. but i simply can’t argue with the output – two stunningly good albums, and hopefully another one to complete the triumvirate.

now where’s that new mbv album?

came across this ace video whilst reading in the ny times about the pending demise of the brooklyn banks, a legendary street skating spot.  included is some classic footage from powell peralta’s future primitive video. and it’s great to see Vallely reminisce about the banks, skateboarding in the ’80s and his early days. i remember Vallely coming on the scene when i was a teen – about 18 centuries ago – and just blowing me away with his stylish, aggressive, avant-garde moves. it’s like he says…back then, stuff was happening so quickly, especially in terms of street skating, that it was hard to keep track of who was pulling which sick new trick. it’s cool to see him now too – older but no less passionate about his calling.

great skate spots are sacred places. and now another sacred place is gonna be gone. what a shame.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DirtyFunkStepper

with thanks to lovely sheryda…

another interweb revelation – a bizarre but rather fascinating piece, by John Leland, in the new york times about female porn addiction and a movement that seeks to save those who have strayed.

content aside, i was pleasantly surprised to see leland’s byline once again. as a fan of music criticism (at least some of it), i remember that some of  the earliest pieces that really made an impression on me – and yes, i’m dating myself here – were from leland during his days at spin. back when spin meant something.

leland’s piece for that mag on public enemy – and the shitstorm that ensued following professor griff’s anti-semitic slurs back in the ice age (aka the late ’80s) – was a masterwork, and it remains one of my fave pieces of music writing. i hadn’t read it in ages, but this post made me dig it up online. and well, the wait was worth it. what an opening sentence! and what an opening paragraph!

leland brought analysis, passion and ol’-fashioned reportage into the mix. and he was a great writer. after spin, he went on to edit details for a bit, wrote a book called hip: the history, and then, well, i don’t really know.

except now i do – he’s with the times. perhaps that’s been the case for a while, i’ve no idea. but i sure look forward to reading more of his pieces.