this blog is a visual notebook of inspirations for a group of bandit bloggers. we post things we see and like. our lives don’t revolve around singular topics and neither does our blog. sorry! nothing is in-or-out of context here. enjoy xx
i knew about T-REX but not about marc bolan, or tyrannosaurus rex, that is until a few years ago…
devendra barnart
the first time i heard some of the marc bolan’s tyrannosaurus rex early acoustic song it immediately reminded me of some of the music of devendra barnart, and mark borthwick.
mark borthwick
indeed… the circle of life shall continue with no end… just saw a documentary on life of bolan see link below… work a watch for its place in history of music…
marc bolan documentary – dandy in the underworld (1997)
BBC: marc bolan – the final word (2007)
despite bolan being kind of a phoney in his time (don’t kill me but, in a way similar to bob dylan… and i say that still liking both their music), there is no doubt they were special in their ability to snatch ideas out of thin air (mostly from american black artist – like the rest of them famous people) and repeat it regularly. bolan dis make great pop songs, and his lyrics, although sometimes pretentious, are definetly not like your average pop lyrics and quite beautiful – that is only if you can imagine them to be genuine… but bolan, in reality, was all to self conscious, and lived a full time life of PR and showbiz to be genuine in any way. he had that certain talent, like ralph lauren, “borrowing from the right people” and he did influence the next generations to come from bowie (who was his contemporary) to the stones, even SUICIDE (the band) since bolans death preceded the release of suicide’s first album back in 1977, from the smiths, to the stone roses, even lenny (lame) cravitz, and definetly paul stanley of kiss…
but personally i’d take devandras music or mark borthwick “musings” over that any time. by pr
my friend was crying to me to the other day, she was let down because the friends she thought she had, turned out not to be such friends. in trying to console her i said “you know what? i don’t have many true friends either, but that’s ok.” my father told me when i was a kid that “if, by the end of your life, you can count your friends on one hand, you should consider yourself a lucky man.” i couldn’t quite understand it at age 12… i thought i already had 20+ odd friends, but i so understand now what he meant. not sure if that helped her that night. but i was up till 5am drinking and talking to an artist who was visiting new york and what he said to me was even more profound… i’ll tell you…
we joked how today, people have thousands of followers but zero friends. i was trying to name a few of my good friends that i have acquired through the years. some had dropped off my list but came back into my life and redeemed themselves. i was able to roll off a few, three, four… and we then laughed, as neither of us named the other. you know, its not easy to become a friend – that’s no easy task…
he said when he was in art school and before he left for prague, he was longing for a new chapter. he was assessing the people he had spent his time with and sorting out in his head who they really were and why they had even come together. people travel not just physically but mentally and intellectually. when he told his teacher about this vacancy of souls the teacher said this:
“… don’t worry and don’t fret that you have so few friends now… you will surely find your friends in history one day.”
oh my beautiful jesus – whom i so don’t believe in – i think this was really one of the most beautiful of truths i have heard in so many years. i just stared at him for some time, and a warm smile just lite up my face. it all dawned on me, and crashed onto me… it connected all my dots… i just loved that… and i wanted to share it with you all – but more importantly i wanted to put it up here so i will never forget it. now, i can come here whenever i need, and remember the wealth of friends i have! and these are just the few i am able to roll off… there are many more!
tell me about love
tell me about dignity
tell me about sacrifice
tell me about range
tell me everything
tell me about single mindedness
tell me about fairness
… you can smile now.
ok now go to bed… and remember… you may have friends that you have never met, but in the end your true friends are those who inspire you and change you for the better. thank you to HT for our late night chats, and all of this, we miss you… my new friend! by dd
“climb the charts, girls tear me apart, you know who i am”
part mark-e smith, part the fall… all scape-ism rock n roll man…
formed as a solo project, escape-ism encompasses a more lofi-electronic sound compared to svenonius’ band oriented projects. the band has featured alexandria cabral and sandi denton as live members and contributors. live shows consist of programmed drum machines, sparse jagged guitars, and stream of conscious lyrics. nice. enjoy. by cm
thanks to jerobeam fenderson of oscilloscope music (oscilloscope music – intersect)
demonstration on how exactly it works (N-SPHERES – jeroboam henderson)
halfway between noise music, experimental and techno, the folks at oscilloscope music have a floppy disc based app for mac and pc that creates graphics on a hardware oscilloscope using just the audio content. for those without one of these ancient devices it emulates the oscilloscope graphics conveniently on your computer screen. as seen demonstrated on techmoan. for more of this and other rarities visit bkbunnyland. by bb
and here’s tony wilson of granada (also owner of factory records – hello!) – LOL – hi tony!
and finally a BBC docu on the stone roses
the stone roses, along with other bands like happy mondays and james, helped to define the madchester scene, a vibrant and influential period in british music. you hear that oasis? liam’s gonna have somethin’ to say… by ar
the chateau marmont on sunset frequented by morrison and where john belushi was found dead. whole nother story, but very similar, to come.
above image at the roundhouse london photo by ethan russell
jim morrison in less “better days”
stranger days… arrested at the doors concert for “lewd behavior” banned from performing for 2 years
jim morrison and girlfriend, pamela courson, who played a role in his death
paris is always a good idea
1- the end of jim morrison if unavailable try HERE
“1971. when jim morrison was at the height of his career, the doors seemed unstoppable. six years of intensive career, 6 albums, 200 concerts. jim morrison had become a music legend…until a tragic end. full documentary on the life of this rock icon, from the beginning… until the end.” – director: michaelle gagnet
“july 2, 1971. jim morrison is one of the most famous rock singers in the world. but morrison is at war with his own dark demons. In 24 hours his darkness will consume him and he’ll be dead. using archive footage, dramatic reenactment and interviews with his closest companions, final 24 details the last 24 hours of morrison’s life.”– directed by mike parkinson”
2 good documentaries, i preferred the 1st one (the end of jim morrison) to some extent… but both are worth a watch. a good outline on a story, i had heard and read, but never knew the tiny details off. bit sensational, but filled with great people like french directors alain renais, and agnes varda, on top jaques demy…. all friends of jim morrison apparently. by uh
thanks to bkbunnyland for this little tokyo gem: “i stumbled upon sheena ringo hearing her first album being played in a trendy taipei record shop in the late 90s and became an instant fan. back then she was known as the queen of grunge and her first two LPs really drove that home. after her pop success she expanded to psychedelic jazz with a fabulous vibe of 1960s seedy burlesque clubs and 1930s gin joints. hands down japan’s most high concept pop star, she never does a show or tv appearance without pulling out every stop and putting on a mixed media barrage of classy retro homage to the past century of japanese music. her latest work in 2024 is a series of collaborations with younger pop divas which honor and respect both artists but with the expected and extravagant ringo flair and polish” to see more of ringo and other rarities visit bkbunnyland. by bb
original bose 901s – not the greatest audiophile sound for the money, but surely interesting to look at with its horizontal approach and beautiful cabinetry.
in the light of the new hyped-up kith + bose collab reissues of this classic speaker we thought we’d share a bit of its history, as i myself once considered buying a pair, almost a decade ago, but instead opted for a pair of magnepans instead… but here it is non-the-less… “there may be no singular product in modern audio history that has generated more accolades, derision, or pure controversy than the bose 901 loudspeaker. introduced in 1968 by a then four-year-old concern named after its MIT-educated founder, the 901 neither looked, nor sounded, like any speaker that had come before it. with its pentagonal cabinet that faced eight of its nine identical 4-inch, full-range drivers at the reflecting wall behind the speaker, its designer amar bose sought to have it mimic the way we hear in concert halls and imbue its sound with a giant soundstage and spatial realism that was unsurpassed.
amar bose and his 901’s in a clear cabinet
copy of bose 901 series III owners manual
beyond any success of its spatial trickery, the 901 had its issues — the combination of its small cabinet and unusual dispersion pattern required equalization at both ends of the frequency spectrum, and it was (not surprisingly) room and placement sensitive. some sophisticated audiophiles bemoaned a perceived lack of detail and veiled quality to its sound. j. gordon holt, founding editor of our high-end sister publication stereophile, noted in a 1971 commentary that the 901 “produces a more realistic semblance of natural ambience than any other speaker system, but we would characterize it as unexceptional in all other respects.” my own mentor, harry pearson, jr., told me in the early 1980s that he bought a pair of first-generation 901s after reading the positive reviews in the mainstream audio press and was so disappointed that it prompted him to found the absolute sound as an alternative voice.
you are looking at he BACK of the speaker here
in the legend and mythology of the bose 901, the review we’ve reprinted here, written by julian hirsch for hifi stereo review’s september 1968 issue, looms large. it has been suggested by some observers that few factors beyond bose’s own advertising contributed more to the speaker’s huge commercial success. while the review retained hirsch’s usual dispassionate and professorial voice, it was certainly as close to a rave as he ever got. in 1998, when sr celebrated its 40th anniversary and hirsch was asked to reflect on the most noteworthy products he’d encountered, he cited the 901 right alongside such classics as the original shure v15 cartridge, the marantz 10b tuner, and the dynaco a-25 bookshelf speaker. back in ’68, the 901 review appeared without fanfare and was mixed among the several featured each issue in hirsch’s “technical talk” department, which always began with a brief essay (not reproduced here), followed up by a handful of product tests.”
above sound dispersion and positioning – positioning the 901s, which fire backwards, in a standard room can be challenging as the 12-inch gap necessary between the apex of the speaker and the wall places the front of the speaker about 30 inches from the wall. you need to be sure to have a room that can accommodate that. over all a great consumer level speaker system, with some proper positioning and staging however in my opinion “too much electronics” to make this a true pure sound audiophile unit
original hifi stereo review magazine review from 1968
“depending on one’s viewpoint, the bose 901 speaker system might be considered a revolutionary approach to sound reproduction, or simply a workable combination of well-established (and sometimes deprecated) techniques. the bose 901 enclosures house nine small, specially designed drivers that have 4-inch cones and powerful magnetic structures. eight of the drivers are angled to the rear, while the ninth is mounted on the front of the enclosure facing the listening area. this arrangement is intended to achieve approximately the same ratio of direct to reflected sound that exists in the concert hall…” to see the rest of the review by julian hirsch, in the 1968 issue of hifi stereo review magazine, click on the link. by ss
shelter bar an audiophile venue on the quiet outskirts of tokyo japan – all blues bar new york city
resident advisor exploring japan’s rich culture of listening bars and audiophile venues. it’s a culture rooted in the joy of discovering music, and listening to that music in the best possible environment—that means precision-made speakers, amps, turntables and mixers. tucked away in basements, back-alleys and high-rise buildings, these bars come in different shapes and sizes, but they are united by their pursuit of quality, with owners endlessly fine-tuning their audio setups to create an enriching experience for anyone who visits. these are wonderful settings for people to share their love of music, serving as a “third place”—somewhere to unwind in between their time at work and home. though they’re the result of long-standing traditions, listening bars offer a glimpse into progressive japan, one of the world’s most vibrant places for music discovery. by dd
“…most people learn to deal with life and relationships… the artists doesn’t, because he is unable to spend the time to do that…”
“my personal life tends to remain in a state of chaos – and i never seems to have the time to put it all together…”
“i understand people more, before i was incredibly naive, i would fall in love at the drop of a hat, or give myself fully to people… i now know the way of the world these days”
this was the first ever authorized nick cave documentary directed by nanni jacobson
nick cave with iggy pop
above – nick cave and anita lane. the film spans nick caves career from birthday party onwards.
above – a young brad pitt and nick cave in and early film : johnny suede
nick in berlin
this docu was broadcasted on tv stations in various countries (germany, australia, israel, switzerland, austria, italy)
nick cave straight to you documentary – if not available here click here
the macabre crooner documented here with his favorite outfits and gorgeous lyrics, the highs and lows of life are all captured here… some nice insights on an intimate level with nick cave. nick reveals how he has finally aged and knows the world a bit better, burned by love, still unable to manage his personal life, and disappointed by the outcome of his rehab, he still finds himself in his depths of darkness, but he feel he has now a good grasp on life and is finally a well-adjusted citizen of sorts. the footage is not beautifully shot but the substance and insights are all there. recommended for any nick cave fan. by xy
a visual collective outlet of inspiration
