Midnight In A Perfect World

Dash Snow aka Sacer RIP.
Photos courtesy of 12oz Prophet

Paste Your Taste

If you have a Last.fm account, there is a pretty cool option called 'Paste Your Taste' which basically generates a list of your favorite bands so you can post them on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. I most recently discovered this option and had it generate my list of favorite bands. Check em' out below.

Deftones, The Murder City Devils, Monster Magnet, Machines of Loving Grace, Megadeth, Tesseract, Tool, Quasimoto, Slipknot, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Burial, Danzig, Dozer, Korn, Bochum Welt, Madvillain, Bush, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, Motörhead, Mudvayne, Hatebreed, Fellsilent, Kyuss, Rage Against the Machine, Drowning Pool, Dudley Perkins, Interpol, The Sword, Team Shadetek, Live, Godsmack, MF DOOM, P.O.D., Gang Starr, The Verve, Madlib, Lootpack, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Radiohead, Black Sabbath, Legowelt, Black Moon, Linkin Park, The Pharcyde, Porno for Pyros, Foo Fighters, UNKLE, Pete Rock, Portishead, Aphex Twin, DJ Krush, The Smiths, Diplo, Giorgio Moroder.

Also, while you're at it check out this website which allows Last.fm users to generate banners with all your favorite band logo's so you can paste anywhere. You can have it generate your overall favorite bands which you play frequently or your favorite bands from 3 or 6 months ago. I generated one from my most recent favorite bands and below is the outcome. Dope!

Well Played

Just in time for election day!

Public Service Announcement

I wouldn't have it any other way!

The City Sleeps

The City Sleeps is a photo journal from several Wall Street Journal photographers that were sent "out overnight to shoot the city during the hours when most of its citizens are sleeping." I love this idea. It reminds me when I used to trek home in the wee hours after a night at NASA or The Bank. The city looks so vulnerable and forgiving, almost like it's yours to cherish all to yourself. The madness is briefly elsewhere and the traffic is gone. The dark corners and alleys put a little bounce in my step, and that brisk night air is just a reminder to get home to that warm bed that awaits. I really miss NY! I need to finally move back for round two!

Anyhow, below are some of my favorites from this excellent photo set, view the rest of them here. Thanks to Prolly on this one.




Photos by Ramsay de Give and Keith Bedford

Seen On The Street

Seen On The Street is a photo-set on flickr from fellow cyclist Sasha E which exhibits the daily commuter bikes of NYC messengers and riders. His photos are great and he can really capture the essence of the bicycle in it's natural setting. Below are some of my favorites from the set, click here to view the rest.

Old Beta Bodega Website

Back in early 2000, Miami was home to a slew of independent record labels releasing IDM/Electronica, one of them being the mysterious Beta Bodega Coalition which had a very unique way of combining music & politics. My good friend Gabe has been recently posting on his blog some great classic archives/artwork from his old record label Merck from that time, which in turn reminded me that I still have an active link for the first version of the intricately designed (at least during that era) Beta Bodega website, designed by Leekon. It's basically all flash and pretty simple when you look at it this time around. However, nothing beats that nostalgic feeling when browsing the site, from the list of events, to the labels, artists and DJ's that became nobody's, to just reading the text throughout. Definitely worth checking out if you were a part of this scene during those great years. Click here for the full experience.

1986 NYC Messenger Article

The bicycle messenger is a dying breed. Well, not necessarily but it's surely nothing like it used to be. During a time when there was no internet, fax machines or cell phones, the bike messenger reigned supreme. There was no speedier way to get something delivered. The messenger business was huge back in that time, with thousands of riders each day delivering millions of packages and hundreds of messenger companies dispatching calls all day throughout the city. But with all the technology invented since those days, there is no need for messengers anymore however, some companies still use them as there are always going to be tangible items that can't be faxed, scanned or emailed. Today, there are barely fifty messenger companies in the big apple, with very few riders, but they're still out there!

Check out these high quality scans from a 1986 edition of New York Magazine regarding NYC bike messengers. Crazy how they literally used to own the streets. Click on each page for a high resolution scan.







Scans courtesy of Sasha E.

Graffomat

A full-on graff vending machine that stocks paint, markers, caps, gloves and even ski masks?!?! Seriously!?!? Read more here.

NASA

Back in the 90's in NYC, during the Giuliani era, pre-911, or better said, when New York was New York, there lived a weekly gathering called NASA which stood for Nocturnal Audio Sensory Awakening which was basically the first rave party in the USA and the staple to any and all future techno parties. My wife and I would frequent NASA during it's final days back late 1997 - early 1998 when we lived in NY and met so many creative and interesting people, it was a scene like no other. For several years it was held at this venue called 'The Shelter' on 157 Hudson street in the Tribeca neighborhood and housed the worlds first techno DJ's such as Frankie Bones, Paul Oakenfold, Aphex Twin, Moby, Richie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Keoki, Soul Slinger and numerous others. It was conceived by none other than famous drum and bass mogul, DJ DB along with promoter extraordinaire Scotto. The weekly night attained huge status and a serious following starting with an appearance on NBC's Today Show back in 1992 featuring a very young Katie Couric leading to A&E creating a documentary regarding this new "rave culture", even appearing on the silver screen in Larry Clark's film, 'Kids', NASA blew the fuck up!

What stood out most, and what they were best known for was their flyer designs which were created by graphic mastermind Mike Szabo. Attention screamed from these flyers, even if it wasn't your thing. They plastered them everywhere on the street including giant wheat pastings, and hitting up each and every store below Union Square. I used to make it a ritual to go during my lunch to the now defunct rave mecca on Lafayette, Liquid Sky, and get my new NASA flyers each week. From New Jersey, Philly, Baltimore and Connecticut, each and every Friday club kids flocked to DB & Scotto's night as if it were Sunday Mass. Of course, the city evolved itself into a corporate theme park, venues closed, people changed and economic issues took it's course, there is nothing left of these days but memories. Sadly, it was the end of an era as we knew it.

Below are some of my favorite NASA flyer designs from back then, and here and here are some great archives featuring more of NASA's attention to detail.

Styles upon styles

As most of you may know, when it comes to graff I'm all about handstyles...for days! Nothing better than catching a sick spot with a clean hand and nasty drips, letting the world know you're on some next level shit! For one, handstyles are the most essential part of a writers work and not only completes, but creates an identity for all artists just like a signature. It all starts with handstyles and it's all about being unique and having your own mark in order to stand out from all the bullshit. Not many have got what it takes, however, check some real deal scribbles from Revok MSK below. Peep his site here for more.

Kyle on Google Earth...

...in front of DQM. Big brother is watching...ha!

Sky's The Limit!

Miami's own homegrown, FreeGums! Click Here.

Great Marketing

Check out this eBay auction for some Campy cranks...Talk about a diversion! Makes you forget what the hell you were searching for in the first place! Anyway, the seller is obviously some college dude (see keg tap for sale) in need of some extra party cash, with plenty of pull for hot chicks! Be sure to check out his other items for more ummm, bike parts?

Seagull Vs Reporter

I'll never get over this one.

NO FACEBOOK

Burger King Corporation's I.T. fucktards block nearly every darn website one can imagine. Makes my day at work that much more annoying! Surprised my Blogger is still accessible!

Burial and Lastfm

Ever since joining lastfm I've discovered great music! It sure helps me stay tuned with the latest and greatest in the music scene worldwide and beyond. Most recently, I've finally discovered some good electronic music. Burial, is an electronica genius via-UK that creates some of the most obscure dubstep you'll ever hear, or at least for me. I've heard of Burial before through Shadetek but never really paid any mind till now, thanks to lastfm (i'm seriously not getting paid for this)! Check out my lastfm page here and see what I'm jamming at anytime! And here is Burial's "Near Dark" track off the 'Untrue' album, just for your listening pleasures. Enjoy!

FixiezzVidyzz

.

.

A Good Read

Check out this great interview with my good homie Gabe regarding the current state of IDM, the notorious music industry, and the ending and future of the amazing Merck label. Read all about it here.

Ben Drury

This post is long overdue as I've been meaning to write about this talented artist for sometime now. His name is Ben Drury and for several years was the creative director for the sadly defunct UK label Mo'Wax Records. His work created an identity and aesthetic for the label as well as the artists within. Famous covers such as Dr Octagon's 'Octagonecologist', Attica Blues' 'Blueprint', Unkle's 'Psyence Fiction' Money Mark's 'Cry' and DJ Krush's 'Milight' (amongst many others) were all created by none other than Mr. Drury.

Ben was born in Southhampton, located on the south coast of England where he gained a love for letters, fonts and typesetting from an interest in layout design and local graffiti. He was introduced to Mo'Wax label head James Lavelle at a photo shoot and within time became good friends through similar interests and tastes. As art director for Mo'Wax he oversaw the design of album sleeves, toys, logo's and clothes. He's also collaborated with NYC graff legend "Futura 2000" for his book respectively titled 'Futura' which focuses on his campaign with the Mo'Wax label. Most recently Nike collaborated with Ben to create a series of Air Max sneakers which can be seen here.

A few weeks ago I found a website that featured some of Ben's most memorable designs. I was amazed that this site was still up and running as it has not been updated for years! But luckily it's still there but for who knows how long? Anyway, check out how amazing some of his designs and logo creations were for the label, especially during that time. Click here for more details.