MFT: Gone in Sixty Seconds - 48 female names

I was watching "Gone in Sixty Seconds" recently. It was very clumsy and incredibly inspired impressionist poem with a slight notion of a narrative bound together by relentless symphonic ebbs and flows of its erratic innocuous pace.

It is a blast for some reason. The film is literally built around car chases of all walks of life and gives little to no damn about the fact that there are any narrative rules that hold together the film as a medium. H.B. Halicki was doing it his way. And you have to respect that.

One of the more fascinating elements of the film is the list of hijacked cars. All of them have female names because of course cars have female names - they are beautiful et al. One of them - final "girl/boss/etc" Ford Mustang known as "Eleanor" is actually a character (though it is just a car) with a purpose and even attitude. It is even billed in the credits along with Mr. Halicki. (cue Sid "My Way").

If you look at the list of the names of the cars featured in the film outside context - you will get a fine little found poem made of female names. It can be anything you want. You can rearrange the list by the length of the names or by alphabet or randomize it.

1. Marion
2. Barbara
3. Lindsey
4. Dianne
5. Nicole
6. Ruby
7. Julie
8. Frances
9. Mary
10. Joanne
11. Beverly
12. Patricia
13. Ruth
14. Elizabeth
15. Terri
16. Eileen
17. Susan
18. Claudia
19. Rosie
20. Maria
21. Sharon
22. Kathy
23. Alice
24. Leona
25. Kelly
26. Nancy
27. Betty
28. Patti
29. Judy
30. Carey
31. Jackie
32. Laurie
33. Sandy
34. Christy
35. Michelle
36. Tracy
37. Marilyn
38. Maxine
39. Lorna
40. Jean
41. Paula
42. Renee
43. Annie
44. Janet
45. Karen
46. Dorothy
47. Donna
48. "Eleanor"

Speaking with Chatbots

1.

A: have you seen okja?

B: Why do you ask that? 

A: why not 

B: Why don't you tell me the reason why not? 

A: because i'm curious 

B: Does that reason apply to anything else? 

A: no 

B: You seem quite unsure. 

A: whats wrong with that? 

B: Does it seem strange to talk to a bot?

***
2.
A: hello
B: I'm glad to see you!
A: how are you?
B: Sorry, I can't answer this question.
A: Why?
B: What do you mean "Why?"
A: What?
B: What do you mean "What?"
A: Nevermind
B: Ok.

A: Can you help me?
B: What is your problem?
A: no
B: Sorry, can you say that again?
A: no
B: I missed what you said. Say it again?
A: help
B: Sorry, something went wrong!
A: come on
B: Sorry, what was that?
A: nothing
B: Sorry, can you say that again?
A: nevermind
B: What was that?
A: ok

B: I didn't get that.

A: it is your problem, not mine
B: Sorry, I didn't get that.
A: yep
B: Say that again?
A: come on, be a man
B: Sorry, what was that?
A: it was "get over it, dude!"
B: I didn't get that.
A: yes, you do
B: One more time?
A: baby, one more time!

B: I missed that.
A: of course
B: Sorry, I didn't get that.
A: you are being irritating
B: I missed what you said. Say it again?
A: you are being annoying
B: Sorry, could you say that again?
A: YOU ARE BEING EXTREMELY ANNOYING!

B: Sorry, I didn't get that.
A: you get it
B: Can you say that again?
A: YOU GET IT
B: Sorry, could you say that again?
A: damn, you make me furious
B: Say that again?
A: shut up!
B: One more time?
A: SHUT UP!
B: Sorry, what was that?
A: STOP IT!
B: Say that again?

A: AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
B: What was that?
A: me crying in pain
B: Sorry, can you say that again?
A: you're ruthless
B: I didn't get that.
A: vicious garbage bot
B: I missed what you said. Say it again?

Anthony Burgess was hardcore

I was reading Anthony Burgess' memoirs while gathering materials on his primitive man language for "Quest for Fire" (read his 1981 account on the thing - it is pure bliss). Among other things i have found rather hilarious story about his study of James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" titled "Joysprick".

The story goes - Burgess was working on a study of Joyce's use of language in "Finnegans Wake" when he went to Italy. One day Burgess put his precious manuscript into a fancy bag and went to do some photocopies of the manuscript. And then some petty thug on a motorcycle snatched the bag and went away. Here's how Burgess tells the story:

"I wrote a book on the language of James Joyce, I carried it in its Gucci case towards a Xeroxshop to be copied, but it was scippato on the way. The typescript was presumably fluttered into the Tiber or Tevere and the case sold for a few thousand lire...

These scippatori were never caught by the police, who probably shared in their proceeds: their little motorcycles were not legally obliged to be fitted with a targa or numberplate. Petty crime is excused, or even exalted, by the greater crimes of the Quirinale."

Usually, when such thing happens - it is a legitimate tragedy. Just think about it - you spent a lot of time working on it, put a lot of effort, you've been thinking about it in numerous dimensions, structuring, sketching, hatching, belching - and then it is gone and it will never come back. Losing your work, especially in such frustratingly random manner is crushing. It hurts real bad. But Anthony Burgess was no ordinary sensible artiste. He was breaking the pattern of surviving misery.

 

Burgess had the guts to shrug it off like it is nothing and say "So What?" in an unimpressed manner. Instead of trying to retriece a manuscript or simply go on - he rewrote the entire book from his memory. Because that is the most obvious thing you can with a language study of one of the most complex novels of the 20th century. Not only that but he also stated that the whole ordeal made the book better.

The way he put it is exceptional piece of self-criticism:

"...I had to write the book again, not with too much resentment: it was probably better the second time.

... 

"I wrote the book again at once, since my brain had already photocopied it but cerebral photocopies are apt to fade."

 

 This little story is a lesson of grit and tenacity.

MFT: Abstract Browsing - making web abstracter!

"Abstract Browsing" is a thing of beauty. It is a browser plugin that brings abstraction of the browsing website to the next level. "Abstract Browsing" brings ABSTRACT to BROWSING with extreme prejudice. And, oddly enough, it is perplixingly satisfying. After applying it to the page - you start feeling a little bit better - as if you just avenged a bit of your mercilessly wasted time for something aesthetically disturbing.

The plugin was conceptualized by an artist Rafael Rozendaal and coded by a developer Reinier Feijen in 2014. "Abstract browsing" is a gimmicky conceptual web art piece disguised as a functional extension for a Chrome web browser. Its purpose is simple and honorable - to make web looks a little bit different. It turns a page into a mesh of colorful blocks in basic colors and extreme contrasts. Once in a while, the color scheme shifts so that the offensive on the eye would not mellow out. It is beautiful.

Part is its charm lies in absolute pointlessness. Theoretically, the purpose of browser plugin is to make some kind of activity a little bit easier - i.e. to take snapshots or notes or send links to reddit or add custom scripts and so on. But Abstract Browsing simply vandalizes the webpage and makes it impossible to get through mesmerizing homebrew 2001 trip sequence.

Outside context - that is just that. But if you don that in the middle of the workday - it is a serious statement.

The thing is - we live in a world oversaturated with all sorts of information coming from a multitude of channels. It is hard to comprehend how much information we consume - it is way beyond any reason. Most of it is just a filler - consumed while looking for something worthwhile. A little of this and a little bit of that plus any color you like and so on bouncing back and forth with a thousand mile infinitely zooming blank stare. It is all too much.

Yet nothing really worthy ever comes. Just mere something-something, bits and pieces here and there and yet none of it comes together. In fact, the reality of the situation is perfectly described by The Beatles in their seminal backwards psychedelic classic "It's All Too Much".

The thing goes: George Harrison starts telling some story - he sets up the characters and their motivation when the piercing clang angular chord splash tears it all down with a feedback whiplash bunch and then shellshocked stiff melody kicks in and circles around with a menacingly peaceful grimace.
 Abstract Browsing is that angular splash of a chord that resets the whole thing.

MFT: Clipboard History Chrome Plugin

Clipboard History is a plugin for Google Chrome Browser. It is one of those plugins that make your life a little bit brighter. Its purpose is very simple - to keep track of input to your clipboard. You know, just in case, you never know what may happen. We all have episodes of copying some text and then losing it because of switching to something else or being distracted. This plugin helps to avoid that particularly bland feeling of frustration that comes after realization of losing some piece.

Clipboard History plugin can seriously help you to collect and navigate through every little piece of information you have copied - sometimes over prolonged periods of time. If your job involves taking bits and pieces of information and arranging your thing - it is one of your best friends (i once reconstructed the structure of a lost article with its help). With Clipboard History turned on - you don't have to worry about losing any copied piece of information. Instead of slipping into oblivion right away - it stays in a safe place just a click away for a while.

But it is not just a handy tool for some mundane clickety-clack ack ack ack - it is also rather powerful tool for creating poetry.

Here's my story. Today I was surfing through reviews and analysis for "Freddy Got Fingered" (post coming soon). It wasn't much of interest but at the end of a session i clicked on Clipboard History in order to wipe cache clean (it gets clumsy otherwise). But before clicking the button - i saw something i wasn't expecting. I was looking at the bits and pieces of the words that were taken here and there over the course of the day mashed together chronologically. It was disjointed, radiant hodgepodge. And it was absolutely ridiculous and in the same time absolutely fabulous. It was sacramental something completely different.

Here's how it went:

Towel blowing nothing
Nails the muse tune
gums bleed tacitly
Low nose exhaust the detrimental dripping
silence sniffing
Tse Tse Fly - does Braaam! 

Huzzah! It is a poem and it was made unknowingly while i was doing something else. I can't express the feeling of discovery that exploded in my brain. I never thought of using Clipboard History that way before.

In many ways Clipboard is a treasure trove of unexpected imagery created by sheer force of juxtaposing displaced bits. It is multi-layered thing.

First of all - it is an elaborate development of an automatic writing method. The way it takes the mind out of equation is astounding - it doesn't. You just need to do your thing for a while and "elimination of all rational thought" will occur naturally.

Not only that but it also combines automatic writing with found poetry. If being precise - it is not exactly found poetry. It is more of finding poetry inside the text and then fulfilling its potential by combining with other bits.

You can take a step further and start an elaborate text copy collage rampage. This savage spitting of CTRL+C's can result in really loony piece of text completely free of rational composition.

Aside from automatic writing, it is good old lettrist detournement. The entire makeshift method is based upon copying words, phrases or sentences that user found interesting. These bits and pieces are then mashed together into one tangled piece inside Clipboard History's purgatory.

However, it is also technically an act of appropriation. If you think about it, copying words from other sources in order to construct your own text is a legitimate appropriation. However, due to taking the bits out of context into a clipboard limbo and their subsequent combinations - the fact of appropriation is basically anulled. The bits are moved beyond that. In many ways - defamiliarizing and displacing words gives you a chance to reconsider them and uncover its hidden meaning. 

 

MFT: A nicer kind of AdBlock - DadaBlock

Overabundance of adverts on the webpages had led to widespread of AdBlock plugins for web browsers. It is easy to understand why they are used. People are often annoyed by ads, its content the way they are presented and find it detrimental to what they consider to be the internet user experience. Because of that they want ads gone by any means. That is reasonable thing to want considering that ads on the web sometimes go way out of limits.

DadaBlock is an elaborate variation on traditional AdBlock plugins for web browsers. It works similarly to any other adblock - it prevents the depictions of the adverts on the ad spaces of the webpages. But instead of simply leaving empty spaces or presenting some kind of allowed content - it shows various works of Dada artists. For example, a little of Duchamp in drag and a little bit of Ernst's near black and a little bit of Tzara, Ball and Hoch buzz chorust splashed like Toyota Thunder Pepsi Blade Runner Inflattable Nosferatu.

It is a great idea. DadaBlock is built on the notion of blatant appropriation and recontextualization. It also hijacks the concept of advertisement for artistic purposes and misuses sincerely. It asks a silly question "What if ad spaces are used as an exhibition spots?" And it is something worth to think about.

In some way ad-blocking is a ground level manifestation of censorship. It is a result of consumer ego-centrism and misunderstanding of basic functioning of business. While it may seem as a form of a protest and direct resistance to a consumerist oppression - the majority of AdBlock simply don't care about that. They want to consume "their own way" (i.e. being affected by different means). But what replacing ads with works of art can do to those consumers?

That thing we will never know because it is doubtful that they will download this specific AdBlock instead of DadaBlock. This makes DadaBlock a gimmick AdBlock for those in on the joke.

But the idea it presents is really worth exploring. The internet is littered with ads of walks of life. They are everywhere. Sidebar left, sidebar right, footer, right in-between the paragraphs of text, as another entry in the newsfeeds, as a pop message, as gentle reminder that you have some kind of unfinished business somewhere. The list may go on.

But what if instead of those pesky ads that are trying to sell you something you will get something to gaze on and contemplate upon? Can it change the perception of ad space? Or the very form of ad space will turn work of art into an advert it is trying to defy? 

ShadyUrl - elaborate URL shortener

ShadyURL is an URL-shortener that turns your little precious link into a disturbing monstrocity with a notion of questionable content. In its heart it is a vitriolic play on an astounding conceptual pointlessness of URL-shorteners.

Think about why URL-shorteners exist? They make links compact and more aesthetically pleasing? Sure. You can't attach links on social media and sometimes you have sign limit that you can't waste on mile long link. OK. But both reasons are obvious bullshit.

Aside from artificially imposed limitations - there are no practical justification for URL-shortening. Sure, they offer seemingly reasonable solution - instead of putting the real link - they redirect to it through their own generated link that is shorter and branded. And by that they generate revenue though good o' PCC CTR.

Because of that - why not to mock the entire concept by weirding it out. Instead of simply shortening sweet URL ShadyURL turns them upside down inside out and backwards. It adds something generously inappropriate and insulting to the link so that it would look like something really suspicious.

Endlessly fascinating Mindhunter Overkill...

Sometimes the best thing about a particular work of art is the title. It is easy to understand the reason why. Because that part is usually easier to pull off than actually do something worthwhile through and through. After all - "title is the half job done". Good title can salvage mediocre or merely generic piece of work simply by being irresistible. It is able to elevate the work to another level where imagination can run amok on the possibilities hidden behind the intriguing title. That kind of instigation sometimes can be all the piece needs in order to stay.

And I want to tell you about two particular works of art that perfectly encapsulate that statement.

There are two comic book miniseries with somewhat generic titles "Overkill" and "Mindhunter". Both are part of inter-company crossover between Dark Horse Comics and Top Cow Productions. (stop for a moment and think about narrative potential of such team-up. Dominant cow and mysterious horse. Oh, oh, oh, oh... Where is Mighty Boosh when we need them?)

The selling point of the series was pairing down four signature characters from respective companies in the "ultimate showdown": Aliens and Predator on the Dark Horse side - Witchblade and The Darkness in the Top Cow corner.

Despite offering some curious narrative opportunities - both series are fairly generic crossovers that follow traditional Aliens\Predator crossover formula. The same that driven the series to the ground around that time. It goes like this: "Aliens happened to nest somewhere, Predator happens to be hunting nearby, Somebody Someone is caught in-between and fighting back". "Overkill" is exactly what it says on the tin while "Mindhunter" goes a bit into "Lovecraft meets Barker" territory but barely does anything with it.

Since every character is recognizable brand - it seemed reasonable to include all of them on the cover. Overlong list of participants made the titles special. Because of that the official titles look like this: "Overkill: Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/The Darkness" and "Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/The Darkness: Mindhunter". These are long-long titles. Too long to be coherent.

But because of that already generic titles became overcrowded to the point of incoherence. The list of participants made the titles extra clumsy. By shoving all involved parties into the titles - the whole thing turned simple titles of the story into a demented poetry of sorts. The titles are hijacked to the parts unknown. For some reason titles of the story are situated in the different places - in the beginning and the end respectively. That adds some rhythm to the thing.

Just try to read them: "Overkill: Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/The Darkness" / "Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/The Darkness: Mindhunter" - they are so long that by the time you have finished reading you already forgot what it was all about. It is too much one can take in the title. I guess that wasn't part of the plan.

And there is only thing that could be done with it - going further in combining the names and making a poem out of all possible combinations. Because endless repetitions can strip them from the remnants of the sense and turn these lists of participants and brief summary of the ordeal into a insipid incantation.

Here's my version:

MFT: Reddit r/wordcount

Wordcount is probably one of the greatest subreddits second only to r/place. What is it about? It is what it says on the tin - a subreddit dedicated to posting numbers of words that users claim to have written over some period of time.

Why? Because why not? Bragging, etc. It is not really a sensitive information of any kind. In fact - it doesn't even matter whether those numbers are rooted in reality or not. What matters is the fact that these particular numbers are taken out of context and documented on their own. Because of that they seem awkward and rather unassertive. However, they manage to sneak past the fence of consciousness that particular stodgy filler impression. And it is spanking perplexing.

Wordcount is pointless. Documenting the number of written words is ultimately a futile activity. Word count means a lot when you are on a payroll, but otherwise it means little. The number of words looks tedious without proper background. It is devoid of sense to the point that it turns into pesky vacuous cannonball that bounces off surfaces erratically - drawing non-existant knot of lines craving to turn into a wrecking ball.

Part of subreddits charm is in the lack of context. There are no explanations or comments on the nature of texts or even mere explanations of writing intensions - there is only a number of words written. Sometimes it is supplemented with a "total number" of written words which hints to a bigger albeit still nondescript project. Some posts even have comments - mostly generic congratulations for "significant achievements".

If you want, you can deduce what kind of writing user performs by judging from the Reddit profile activity - but that is not exactly conclusive and rather stupid waste of time. Plain fantasizing on the possible context is much more intriguing.

In some way Wordcount is a piece of processual conceptual art - a collaborative affair in which community delivers dry and dire statistical numbers that make nothing except for documenting the number of written words. These numbers are just there for all to see and overthink.

Despite being a little less than nothing - Wordcount is incredibly engaging and somewhat addicting. Once you have started to post your own word counts - you are tempted to add more and more and more, you start looking at the other peoples word counts, comment them, engage in highly awkward generic conversations.

MFT: Light Switch Twitterbot

It's always fun to experience a twitterbot. Sometimes it is just a stupid bingly-bing throwaway nil joke. Other times, it is enduring and engaging relationship to which you perpetually come back. Anyway, it is fascinating to observe different permutations and combinations of various words and images over long periods of time. It opens up new dimensions.

In every case - there is a lot chew. Because of that twitterbots are incredibly inspiring for me. They engage in a completely different, selfless kind of interaction - they show you something mildly unexpected out of absolutely ordinary. Some twitterbots go beyond that - to the very mundane.

Light Switch twitterbot is one of them. It was conceived in 2016 and ever since it was producing the most daring tweets that could be found on Twitter. Light Switch is self-describing kind of bot - there is nothing beyond. It is a bot that simply imitates operation of the light switch. Once in a while, no matter what. And nothing more.

There are two concepts in the heart of Light Switch Twitterbot. One is Marcel Duchamp's impish ready-mades. The other is Martin Creed's seminal "Work No. 227, The Lights Going On And Off" (which a slight elaboration upon ready-made concept). In some way, Light Switch can be viewed as riff or an adaptation of Creed's work.

Light Switch bot produces two kinds of tweets - either "on" or "off". While both are just the words - they have the concept behind them and you can't get away from it. The trick is simple: you can't help but tie "on" and "off" with the concept of light switch. This thing is instinctive. And so it all turns into imaginary light going on and off - imaginary space filled with light and plunged into darkness. It is a good exercise for imagination.

Light Switch is a celebration of the common mechanism that is used every day by everyone. It is disarming in its simplicity. The concept is displaced into words and confined in a completely different and unfitting realm while precisely replicating its original sequence. If you read this endless stream of "on"'s and "off"'s for a while - your head will start to look for something behind the world. Some kind of a diverting pattern, some form of a swing, a syncopation of sorts. That overthinking is the part of the bots operation. The gist of Light Switch is not the bot itself but happens in the head upon dealing with it.

There are over a thousand "on"'s and "off"'s and counting. It will go ad infinitum. It is beatiful.

The story behind Scrambling "Euouae" you never knew you wanted to know

Every once in a while i have a need to do something extremely pointless. Something that makes so little sense that the fact of doing something so pointless sucks the mind into the negative zone and rolls it inside out upside down backwards with effervescent abominable ominous dubiousness.

It was a long time since i had this feeling. And it very nice to feel it once again. That was inspiring.

MFT: Nothing on the Internet Browser Plugin

"Nothing on the Internet" is a browser plugin designed for Safari and Chrome browsers. It was developed by Joseph Ernst and Jan van Bruggen of Sideline Collective in late 2017. It is one of the conceptual browser plugins that is trying to make an existential statement.

The plugin is all about nothingness or if being exact lack of content. It presents this concept as "the most interesting thing on the internet" which is apparently all about content (insert Daniel Bryan "No! No! No!" chant), but it never goes beyond that. And that diminishes its initial impact to a null and void. There is no punchline in this plugin. It is a gimmick plugin, a mere publicity stunt. It turns an attempt of escape from information into a button mashing jest. But an idea is curious at the very least.

The plugin is very simple. All it does is an elaborate clean-up of a viewed page. It throws out the majority of visual elements seen on the page - the text, visuals (pictures, gifs, videos), ads and so on. and leaves barebones layouts of a page - vast spaces of nil. Just click the button and wipe it all out. With extreme prejudice, apparently.

If you try it on this blog - you will get a hard case of whiteout that will make Ed Brubacker proud. However, if you try it on Google image search or 9gag or Giphy or Tumblr Archive - you will get a fine collection of colourful blocks of various rectangular shapes.

In some way, it can be interpreted as a response to ever growing overconsumption of information without rhyme or reason and continuing overexposure to a warped and twisted reality of internet that seriously affects perception of reality and multiplies confusion and frustration. It is all too much (ta-dah, da), there must be some way out of it. "Nothing on the Internet" serves as a panic button, an AdBlock pushed to extreme, that makes it all go away for a moment. But not really.

Surfing on internet is extremely time-consuming and ultimately critically counterproductive thing. It renders users numb and unfocused, incapable of any substantially beneficial activity. Instead, users are treated like pawns in a grand game of manipulating opinions and perceptions for own good, generating web traffic and turning it into revenue. All while they are watched, dissected and segmented so that they could be presented with personalized packs of advertising content in order to manufacture impressions and clicks.

That wasn't what the Internet was about. As Wyatt said "We blew it".

MFT: "Ghost Ship" opening scene

This is an opening scene from a schlocky 2002 horror flick titled "Ghost Ship". In it you can see an ordinary evening ballroom dancing on a lavish cruise ship sometime in the middle of the 20th century.

It is all glossy glitter posh mosh pit: beautiful singer twists around the microphone being all sensual singing tender slowly swinging song while posh lads and gals in fancy cloth are circling around the square being full of themselves. They have all the time in the world and stuff. It is as kitschy as it gets - champaign all over the place, happy faces with diamonds, lipstick and snow white mile wide smiles, gloves to the elbows, beehive hairdo's. It can go anywhere from this setup.

In the middle of all of this - there is a lonely little girl who is definitely "lost" in some sense and got nothing else to do but be there. She plays with a scrabble puzzle or something. Some dude from the crew helps her to solve it. Then a singer calls out those who are not on the dancefloor and so the captain of the ship invites little girl for a dance. Everything is cool.

Then some mysterious hand pulls the trigger and some suspicious wire starts to strain. Something bad is going to happen. But no one notices that because the song is so sweet and everyone are caught in a moment of absolute idyll. To add a bit of a morbid irony - the credits font is ironically designed after toothless asinine saccharine melodramas of old - all pink and twirly.

And then the wire goes off.

And the next thing we see is the wire trembling covered in blood and people confused, frozen in shock - not understanding what just happened. Then blood starts dripping and people start to fall apart. Most of them are cut precisely in half. Except for a little girl who is just psychologically traumatized by that slaughter. Some got their arms slashed off. One got an upper part of his head cut off.

There are many neat details like hand holding a cigarette falling off, clothes falling off a man before he falls apart; pair frozen in a dance pose - lady's lower part falls down while her man holds her upper part; sewn off hand reaching upwards before finally falling down; woman trying to handle a situation by putting herself back together; captain's blank stare moments before his head goes off.

It is gruesome and legitimately shocking. This episode also happens to be the only good part of otherwise passable horror flick.

After such promising start it turns into by the numbers affair with middling script, nondescript characters, meandering pace and supreme lack of focus - sometimes it is a paranoia-driven thriller, then its impressionist gothic horror, then its slasher with a haunted house as a killer and its a boat. It is utterly frustrating.

But the opening scene is brilliant and with a little help of YouTube it turns into a thing of its own.

BSPH: Iggy and the Stooges - Doojiman

"Doojiman" is a jam composition by seminal proto-punk outfit The Stooges. It was recorded in 1972 during the sessions for their third and final album "Raw Power". It was left out because it is more of an idea than an actual song - merely a raw sketch recorded for further development. For years it was gathering dust and then it was finally released in 2010 on a Deluxe reissue of "Raw Power".

"Doojiman" is a glorious example of The Stooges "duking it out". It is incredibly simplistic, even primitive tribal jam that pretends to merely meander but ultimately clumsily wreaks havoc all around and then does that elaborately "wink-wink". In some way - it is an glimpse into what Iggy Pop had envisioned The Stooges to be back in the late 60's - extremely loud, chaotic whiplash tornado of noise with a slight tint of Antonin Artaud's idea of cruelty. It is a blast of sound that goes through the listener, grinds his intestines and leaves him exhausted with a slight feeling of perplexity.

The composition starts with a swinging tribal beat that reminds me of Max Roach's beat on Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas". It is playful but menacing. It wants listener to get lost in a gentle tender manner because it ain't going to settle into some kind of a pattern. Then comes James Williamson's guitar that churns angular bits of riff over and over again. Curiously - it never really develops into something - it stays a transition break that was misplaced into the spotlight. The riff circles around shell-shocked with a hollow tink. Coupled with the drumbeat it remind something perpetually falling down the stairs.

Iggy Pop goes full caliban on this track. He channels his inner Louis Armstrong, splices him with a Jim Morrison in shaman-mode and imagines a jump into the field of cactuses that turns out to be a swamp of quicksand. In result - he pulls dadaist / lettrist Little Richard and litters the song with wide array of erratic caveman scats. It is brutal. If you overthink it enough - there are lots of things that can be spotted. For example, Iggy Pop:

• hollers,
• shrieks, 
• bellows,
• squeaks, 
• wails, 
• roars,
• howls,
• groans,
• bawls Mediterranean glossolalia,
• evokes squalls of wind,
• imitates blares of ire,
• enacts blubber,
• yowl yodels,
• whoops random phonemes, 
• does Mesopotamic drooling
• cast makeshift spells,
• cackles,
• plays siren, 
• says long "wow" loud and clear with feeling and echo, 
• imitates chinese hysterical rambling that slowly morphs into mongolian, 
• exclaims random snappy words (JAM! All right!), 
• mumbles imaginary words that sounds African (just like Hugo Ball), 
• does some Native American offensive phasing howls, 
• some low Louis Armstrong do be do be do, 
• does some Tibetan drones. 

The whole this is peppered with cascading feedback. It mostly acts like a tickling spook that walks around in a white veil with a nondescript grimace and menacing sound.

I have a soft spot for any song with abracadabragesang. Because it takes a gut and a whim to pull it off. Anyone can scat as a snobby jazz bollocksmeister - it is overused and stripped of its power. But trying to go beyond, leaving behind all preconceptions and ultimately enacting your own "Dawn of Men" moment - is something worthy even if it happened absolutely accidentally.

Found Poem: It was thursday - Fast & Furious Soundtracks discography

Having nothing to do may be revelatory at times. It is a good way of exploring the limitations of perception. You can find out sorts of unexpected things while trying to get yourself occupied. A little bit of this and a little bit of that and then rat-tat-tat vroom va voom. It can be frustrating at times - but then, a chance to discover something outweighs everything else. Mostly. But usually not. It just a waste of time in most cases. 

Today i had a hard case of not knowing what to do. That slight feeling of helplessness and misplacement. It happens sometimes. It is fascinating and annoying in the same time. I was puzzled - i wanted to find something new and fresh but everything seemed old and stale effervescent "meh". There was an urge to hum U2's "i still haven't found what i'm looking for". That was the sound of absolute nadir of the mind.

And because that was not an option - I indulged myself to dive into wiki wormhole out of spiteful despair. Mostly because there is "random article" button - a chance to stumble upon sacred something-something. I was clicking "Random article" over and over again, going through all sorts of things - from odd french towns to lost films to eye movements to catchphrases to defunct google products. It was boring but i kept clicking - hoping that something might happen soon. 

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click...

And then i stumbled upon "The Fast and The Furious" franchise page and that was it. There is all sorts of information on this page: detailed retelling of the films plots (a lot of plot, actually), storyline chronology (completely messed up), box office statistics, descriptions of merchandise and dates of live tour - nothing of particular interest. However, there was one section in the tail end of an article. It was dedicated to Soundtrack releases. That was it, 

There were a lot of soundtrack releases for "Fast & Furious" franchise. For the most part - two albums per film - "original motion picture soundtrack" and "original motion picture score" - for those who can't get enough of "Fast & Furious". The list of releases was accompanied by severely abundant comments like "first soundtrack to 2009 film" or "second soundtrack for 2001 film". If you tried to read them through - it was maddening and mind-numbing but somehow morbidly fascinating because of its absolutely nonsensical composition. 

The list of releases was presented in a form of a chart. It is adjustable - you can alphabetically range the bits by title, date of release and notes. Date of release and notes offer nothing - more of the same in a different order. But "title" section works magic of sorts. If you arrange the list by alphabetical alignment of titles - it blows off the "notes" section and turns it into rather off-kilter conceptual poem. 

It is absolutely stupid throwaway nothing but at the very least it is unusual and unexpected. It gave me the kick and that was what i was looking for.

Here it is

MFT: Jackie McLean - It's Time! album Cover

This is a cover of an album titled "It's Time!" by alto sax player Jackie McLean. It is probably one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. 

The album was released in 1964 by Blue Note Records. The album cover was designed by Reid Miles, one of the masterminds of supreme cool minimalist design schemes that were pitch-perfect representations of the music behind them. The man knew his craft well and he knew when breaking the conventions could be at its most effective. 

Miles's ultimate trick was to sucker punch the listener by twisting and turning his perception and expectations in a completely opposite directions - tearing them apart in the process, leaving listener stripped of his defences. 

In case of "It's Time!" it is done by throwing away acceptable cover imagery. There is a list of performers (and a little photo of the bandleader) in upper part. But the first thing you notice on this cover is large quantity of exclamation marks. The cover goes all guns blazing with them - it's a knockout wham-blam: neatly stacked, playfully aligned. The space is occupied by an army of exclamation marks to stress the urgency of the message. 

Overuse of exclamation marks is justified - it is very unusual and immediately attracts attention. It does this particular "zigzag wham" in the head - the composition sparks curiosity. It raises the question "What kind of thing can be behind such elaborate cover?" - (the answer is - savage, extremely intense gush of grooves and melodies that sparkles all around and takes no prisoners). 

Endless row of exclamations marks explodes. They blend together and leave their initial role behind turning into typographic wraiths that wreck the imagination. That is what an album is about. "It's Time!" is an ultimate showdown. Musicians are showing off the skills and trying to one up another over the course of several cuts. The cover of "It's Time!" serves as perfect announcement. Line after line of exclamation marks, hammers its message deeper and deeper. 

The composition manages to be crisp and clean and in the same time extremely dissonant - the rows of exclamation marks seem jangled, jumbled. They embark an elaborate edge play with an eye - the rows stop short from evoking optical illusions. These rows of exclamations marks are almost dancing can-can. The more you look - the more you can catch minors thrusts, swoops and juts in-between.

P.S.: "Cancellation" is probably one of the greatest jazz compositions ever... 

MFT: Alex Proyas Picket Fence Video

This is a video shot by great australian filmmaker Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City). It depicts white picket fence surrounded by green plants and blue sky accompanied by the piano rendition of Radiohead's "Everything's in the Right Place". The video consists of a single uninterrupted shot of a picket fence slowly moving from left to right. Nothing really happens in this video. Just a picket fence surrounded by nature.

It is tempting to say that there is nothing really to talk about but it is not exactly true. It is what it says on the tin "a shot of picket fence" and some other insignificant unworthy of mentioning. But there is more to it than initially seems.

It is extremely slowed down and it adds to an uneasy vibe of the video. But it is still empty. Its hollowness is ominous - because mind is unable to get over the fact that something can be that simply. Such episodes can occur in the sleep and there is no particular explanation for them. They just happen. Why can't they be visualized?

In some way, it is an ambient video. It evokes certain mood and allows to stop for a moment and contemplate about something. Something like breathers scattered here and there in the third season of Twin Peaks. There is no practical purpose to them and yet they are extremely effective in letting previously perceived information to settle in and cool down.

On the other hand - it is definitely a riff on slow cinema and Andrei Tarkovsky in particular. The man was a fan of ultra-dense tracking shots where nothing of particular happened and yet something important occurred. Here it is more of a Godard tongue-in-cheek whammy than a piece of information.

Around the minute mark we get an intertitle "Christopher O'Riley plays Radiohead". He plays piano rendition of Radiohead's "Everything's in the Right Place". It veers on chaotic and barely keeps from falling apart. All while nothing happens at all. Just white picket fence from left to right. You expect something. About thirty seconds later we are informed that "Alex Proyas shoots a white picket fence". And that's it. The video concludes with a a cutoff.

This shot of picket fence can go on forever like this.

My Favorite Things: Flash - This is so stupid

There is something special in finding pages from comic books taken out of context. You have no idea what it is and they always seem supremely odd no matter how you try to reconstruct the narrative or rationalize the scene. It is a beast of its own and it in some way it is better that way.

This is a page from some old "The Flash" comics. It is a splash page numbered 14. The page depicts The Flash running up in the air around the airplane. There is a sharp contrast combination of starry sky and some snow-white clouds or smoke in the background. I guess the plane is in some kind of trouble and The Flash needs to work it out. Or not. Whatever... It doesn't matter. 

Text caption says "This is so stupid". Indeed, this is so stupid. Taken outside of its original context it is surprising cathartic.

From my point of view - it is simply a perplexing situation caught inappropriately from the awkward angle in the wrong moment of time. It is something akin to John Baldessari's "Wrong" series where he took photos with intentionally bad or confusing compositions.

I've found it online while googling picture for the word "stupid" because i felt that way. I guess it is fair to say that this finding isn't exactly what i was looking for, although it is thoroughly satisfying anyway. I don't even have any idea where it is from. I suppose it is somewhere from Wally West run. Probably Mike Barron stuff. Who knows... But it doesn't matter. 

I feel like i can proudly embark on butchering U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" via horrisonant humming.

BSPH: Eat the Day - Dada

How about something completely different?

"Dada" is a composition by the Wes Borland's band Eat the Day. It is trailing, circling jam that meanders with a menacing grimace but without any particular intention. However, it eventually lashes out its nondescript frustration and leaves you alone.

It is built around a bass riff that sonically is very reminiscent of a rocking hobby-horse (also known as Dada). The riff goes back and forth and keeps everything together.

And then it turns out that this hobby-horse is actually a horse of the horseman of the apocalypse and it goes straight to the fiery depths of hell. And then it turns out that it is pretty much the same as the previous place which is at the very least very suspicious. In a rather tender, gentle manner. That is the construction of the composition. 

Guitar and drum parts are laced into the bass part as if it was a boot. Drums lurk in the background for the most part before jumping out in a confrontation with a guitar which acted like an annoying fly for the majority of the composition. Guitar zigzags and buzzes around in the verse parts and then straightens out in the chorus parts before trying to collapse entire composition on itself by lashing out in the solo. Bass line pretends that nothing is happening and just goes on but guitar and drums are actively trying to strangle each other.

"Dada" sounds like a sketch for a song - the structure is in place but the vocal part is yet to be added. The composition follows two part structure - verse-chorus repeated two times and then intense variations with more fuzz and intense soloing.

Along with Big Dumb Face and The Damning Well - Eat the Day was one of the side projects Wes Borland had started after he quit Limp Bizkit. Unlike both of aforementioned, Eat the Day never really came to fruition.

There are only a couple of demoes online and barely any information regarding what the project was about. Judging from available music - it was meant to be something like Borland's much later "Glass Machete" album - more atmospheric, impressionist music. "Dada" sets the mood for something and leads you there but ends abruptly on the threshold. That something is left unknowable but open for overthinking.