micachu and the shapes [music]

micachu and the shapes are picking up pieces. call it recycled fun. so much work lately has been going into making ambivalent feedback surfer noise and folk to make the trees cry that some bits have been getting overlooked. in said wake, micachu has made this simple-sounding uncacophony, a sort of pop catch-all. they jangle, they sample, they bop low-fi frenetic. and it moves. i can't stop listening.

DOWNLOAD: micachu and the shapes - vulture [mp3]
VIDEO: micachu and the shapes - lips
(photos)

BUFFdiss [street art]

buff diss is a street artist from melbourne who works with masking tape. only. i think. and that's all i know.

justin vernon + mhs jazz ensamble [music]

this is one of a few good sound/poor video snippets of justin vernon of bon iver playing a sort of homecoming concert with the eau claire (wisconsin) memorial high school jazz ensemble last week. in this video he covers mahalia jackson's satisfied mind, and it appears that the show also included a few bon iver tracks. thanks to bear for the heads up.

LINK: more info

japanese postcards [real mail]

make up mogul leonard lauder was an avid, lifelong collector of postcards of all kinds. above are selections from some of the 20,000 japanese postcards that lauder donated to the collection at the museum of fine art, boston. the eminently bountiful and reliable new york public library has a few thousand digitals from other parts of lauder's collection. send me a postcard and i promise to send one back:

john murn
no. 39 lane 582
xida rd. 5th floor
hsinchu city 30044
taiwan r.o.c.

lost tribes of new york [video]

i wrote this off at first, thinking kitsch. but being away from the city, who am i kidding? this blog is soggy with new york kitsch.

new math [art]

bicycle contrails [bikes]

in theory:

Contrail is a tool for developing bicycle communities. As you ride, contrail leaves a faint chalk line behind your bike. The goal is to encourage a new cycle of biking participation by allowing the biking community to leave a unique mark on the road and to reclaim this crucial shared space.

The old cycle: More cars on the road --> more percieved danger for bikers --> fewer bikers on road --> even more cars on the road.

The new cycle: A few bicyclists ride with contrail a couple times per week --> faint lines on the road inspire curiosity and remind bikers where it's safe to ride --> new bikers are encouraged to ride and use contrail --> contrail lines get brighter as community grows.

via the super awesome poverty jetset.

super 'ciccio' [fashion]

i need to get me into a pair of these.