47 posts from 2008

Bran Van 3000 is one of my favorite non-heard-of, not released in the United States artists today.  Their first album, Glee (1998), did see release here in the states and the single Drinking In L.A. received moderate airplay on college radio stations.  What has remained consistent with all of the releases by BV3 is their eclectic mix of musical styles woven into a complete sonic experience. 

I first discovered BV3 on a listening station at the now defunct Tower Records.  When a friend of mine and I decided to take an impromptu 7 hour drive, I picked up the disc for the trip.  It proved to be the perfect soundtrack for the road ahead.  Our musical tastes differ by quite a bit, but we both managed to find something memorable on the first album.  Later on, he purchased the disc too. 

So here I am, almost 10 years later still expounding about the beauty of BV3.  Their latest album, Rose was released in their native Canada late in 2007.  Considering that most releases are now placed immediately on I-Tunes, I was shocked to see its exclusion.  So here I present to you the third album by Bran Van 3000, Rose.  Stand out tracks include Call Me (I'll Be Around Medley), Sea Of Life and Tony Roman.  I'm sure you'll find something equally satisfying of this set. 

Tracklisting:

DOWNLOAD ALBUM HERE - Courtesy of SNIFFDAR

Bran Van 3000 - Rose (2008)

Here is the 7th album from my favorite electronic pioneers, Fila Brazillia.  Just like the cover implies, this is a wild mix of down-tempo, break-beat fusion.  Ok, maybe not fusion, but there is definitely some George Duke (courtesy of Frank Zappa) mixed in there.  I also heard The Pat Metheny Group  sampled on The Bugs Will Bite too.  This album is a stereophonic marvel and is best enjoyed from a great pair of headphones.  It's one of those rare albums that you can listen to from start to finish.   A Touch Of Cloth was the first release by Fila Brazillia on their own label, TwentyThree Records.  Enjoy. 

Tracklisting:

DOWNLOAD ALBUM HERE - Courtesy of SNIFFDAR

Fila Brazillia - A Touch Of Cloth

This question was posed by my neighbor, Minger.  It's a question that I've tried to answer in lesser terms in a earlier post.  So, what do you do on a blog?  I'm not sure.  It's where the day takes you or where the day has taken you.  It's what you remember to be true.  It's all those things.  That's what I wrote back in January when I first joined the Vox Neighborhood.  I feel that the same holds true today. 

Minger also asked the following, there are so many things in the world that can grab your attention in both positive and negative ways? What is your responsibility? Do you have a responsibility to the people that will view you? Do you think your voice is a fainting echo or a powerful boom in the various nooks and crannies of the Internet and the world at large?

In terms of responsibility, I try to make sure that the topics I discuss do not harm anyone in my current realm.  When writing about friends and family, I try to envision how they may interpret my writings.  Would they view my posts in humorous terms or would they view it as hurtful?  I've never viewed this as a place to vent venomous statements.  More importantly, it's not my nature. 

When I'm writing about a specific topic that is open for further research, I try to make sure that I've done my own fact checking.  Sometimes I write about cars and I like to make sure that my information is factual.  I've posted several pieces regarding the long forgotten documentary film, Streetwise.  I made sure that I had the right dates regarding it's release and the director involved.  And to further clarify my own recollections, I triangulated the events in my life based upon this information. 

Perhaps what I find more paramount about blog writing is that you never know who or when someone will stumble upon your writings.  I'm writing today on the the 5th of July, 2008.  This may not be viewed by someone until 2011.  What is my responsibility then?  How will they react?  Will my views change?  Today I may champion the most cholesterol loaded diet known to man, but tomorrow I may become a vegetarian.  What I think is most important is to be as honest as possible in that moment. 

Beyond that, I try to write and move on.  I'm not writing news articles (although I did take journalism in high school and college).  This is a fluid, free-form experience.  I didn't ponder how this post would turn out when I sat down to write it.  Rather, I took the points of the question and addressed them one by one.  

This is where my thoughts concluded, on the 5th of July, 2008. 

Alright.  This looks good enough for me.  I'd still like my page to look a little cleaner, with more white space.  I guess I'll get there in time.  I'm not sure why I'm so concerned about the look of this page when it seems that only about 2 people read it including myself. 

Last night I pulled down Chinese Democracy by the reformulated Guns N' Roses.  Some of these tracks I've had for over 2 years already.  There were 3 songs that I had never heard however.  The new songs are pretty good.  Still I wonder what the big hold up is regarding its official release.  More importantly, most everyone who had any care for Guns N' Roses has probably already secured a bootlegged copy via the Internet.  It's been rumored that the album cost somewhere in excess of $15 million to record.  And just think, they haven't even started to promote it yet.  Silly.

..... 

So if you haven't heard the new, new Guns N' Roses, check it out.  It's not that bad.  I can't tell you the name of the song since it hasn't been offically released yet.  The end is actually quite nice.  The strings are beautiful. 

So I've created another wood bordered box to insert pictures into.  In this particular case, I inserted an aborted album cover from Bran Van 3000's Rose album.  If you look closely, you can see that it's a dead bird at the bottom of the illustration.  Nice. 

I'm still messing with the format of the photo wood box.  I can rotate the image as well as the box in Photoshop, so mainly I'm just making sure that it all looks ok.  And if it doesn't... you know I'll just redesign the whole page again. 

I've chosen to do away with the titles that are normally required when creating a blog entry.  In its place, I have inserted a list of dots which will signify the day of the week.  In this case, Thursday is represented by 5 dots.  The actual blog title will be created in Photoshop using the wood templet I created earlier today.  The font used is Futura Light.  I love this font. 

My wish now is to get a few posts under my belt to see what a full page look like under this new format.  I've yet to insert any music or photographs, so I know there will be a few more "mock" posts today. 

So it was time for a make over.  Or maybe I was just restless again.  Who knows.  The pink from the other banner was starting to bother me. It's not as if I woke up this morning and decided that I would reset this page for the 4th time.  It just sort of happened that way.  A little tinkering here, a little tinkering there.  Perhaps part of the problem is that I'm still maintaining my Yahoo 360 account too.  Earlier this week, I changed the format of the page to reflect green grass.  My 360 account allows for more customization than Vox does.  Since I used grass on the other site, I thought I might use wood as a theme here.  Let's see how long this lasts...

09 - Third Stone From The Sun

Jimi Hendrix

1 comment

Here's a mello little number from good 'ol Jimi Hendrix.  Enjoy. 

Strange enough, I've been listening to French musicians lately. Well maybe perhaps not entirely French, but certainly a hybrid of French. Dimitry From Paris, Stereolab and Bran Van 3000 are among the current artists cued up in I-Tunes.

While I've never been to France, nor do I understand the language, I do find their culture intriguing. Oh yes, and I have Vania. My French Connection.

At one time, we use to have French automobiles in the American market.

Renault left the American landscape when they sold their interest in American Motors back in 1987. Renault stopped importing the Eagle Medallion (Renault 21 in Europe) to the states in 1989. Renault has since partnered with Nissan and there have been persistent rumors that they may one day return to the market. Don't hold your breath considering current economic conditions.

Peugeot, another French manufacturer, soldered on until 1991 with their 405 sedan. These cars are very rare in the United States. One is more apt to see the larger 505 executive sedan which was introduced in 1979. The 505 was something of an BMW 5 Series. To this day, they still have a stately presence.

The first to leave the United States and perhaps the greatest French manufacturer however is Citroën.

Citroën was once a great innovator of automobiles. Exuberant engineering costs and NHTSA bumper regulations caused Citroën to leave the U.S. market abruptly in 1974. In 1972, Citroën won Motor Trends Import Car of The Year with their Citroën SM personal luxury coupe. These coupes are very rare, but a beauty to behold.

More accessible today however is the timeless design of the Citroën DS.

It's been said that Cadillac bumpers in the mid 1950's resembled as certain part of the female anatomy (Dagmars), but the Citroën has it own bit of sexual charm too. The front fenders flow back into a tightly drawn interior compartment. This design is not unlike the Porsche 911.

Viewed from above, the front is almost sinister and imposing. Take a look at an American advertisement from the early 1970's.

Which brings me back to my French Connection, Vania. Vania has been to France many times and she too is blessed with her own physical delights. I found an British advertisement for the Citroën DS and took a few liberties.

And now for the way it might be sold using a cross-pollination of the two beauties...

Now Vania if you're reading this, give me a call. I'd love to hear what you're up to these days. In fact, the Love To Love You Baby tag has significance. While flipping through my I-Tune library I saw that old Donna Summer tune and thought of you. Yeah, so give me a call! Ha!

 

Donna Summer - Sounds Of The Seventies 1976 - 11 - Love To Love You Baby

Donna Summer