I’ve been in San Francisco all week and if the weather cooperates I’ll be on my way home in a few hours. My pick for the week is “Smoke and Mirrors” by Widowspeak. This tune is a bit atypical of the bands more earnest slower tempo folk flavor. I had Widowspeak on heavy rotation as I walked through the Haight. This song came on when walking down from Buena Vista park. Such a nice park….
Month: February 2014
Prettyboy – Dan Deacon
I’ve been going on a bit of a Pavement tear lately but broke out of it long enough to visit some other lesser known artists in my messy Spotify playlists. (Spotify really needs to fix this.) Anyway, one artist I dabbled with was Dan Deacon. Deacon is an electronic composer/musician currently based in Baltimore. The track I’m selecting this week is “Prettyboy” from the album “America”. I love this track. It’s a combination of rich circular sythns, injected with what sounds like analog percussion, sprinkled with bubbling oboes. It’s one of those soundtrack pieces you imagine being used in the movie of your life.
Cinnamon and Lesbians – Stephen Malkus and The Jicks
Posting “Cinnamon and Lesbians” by Stephen Malkus and The Jicks. No real particular reason other than I’ve never heard this tune before and I love the way it rumbles and stumbles it’s way down the road. I pick up echoes of St. Stephen in there which is just fine by me.
Gates of Steel – Devo
I didn’t go to a ton of shows in 2013 but it’s no question that the highlight was the Halloween Blood Bath in San Francisco with the Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, and White Denim. Since it was Halloween, I donned my “Oldest Geezer at the Rock Show” costume and boogied with all the youngsters on the floor. What an amazing show. The bands did not disappoint.
The Flaming Lips are not shy about breaking out a great cover now and again. When I saw them earlier in 2013 they produced a superb straight version of “Heroes”. I gave me goose bumps. Halloween they managed to deliver a surprise cover of Devo’s “Gates of Steel”. Wayne Coyne dedicated it to Alan Meyers (who passed away that summer) and all the other freaks in the audience. It was a great tribute. The original is my pick for this week.
After Snowden: using law and technology to counter snooping
Interesting video of a Council of Europe meeting on NSA mass surveillance. Big take-aways here:
0) While the situation we find ourselves is bleak it is not hopeless.
1) The mass surveillance perpetrated by the NSA and their international counterparts is unlawful and a violation of international civil rights.
2) We have to take an active role in protecting our own privacy by changing our own habits by using systems like Tor or GnuPG. Free Software can help but it’s not sufficient.
3) Technology isn’t enough. Laws must change.
stevegio.net 