Saturday, June 14, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Visit Venus
-- Visit Venus is a German duo comprised of producer "Super Mario" von Hacht and hip-hop DJ Mario Cullmann. The pair's lush, jazzy electronica is the German answer to the loungey beat science of such outfits as Thievery Corporation and Nightmares on Wax. Their debut album, "Music for Space Tourism, Vol. 1", hit Europe in late 1995 and since its U.S. release in 1996, has become a chill-out DJ classic. They followed up soon after with the four-song EP "Magic Fly Variations", which expanded their sound universe, adding more dub effects and jungle rhythms to their downtempo repertoire. The pair's more adventurous second full-length, "The Endless Bummer" was released in the spring of 1999. -- (Darin Eriksen, Allmusic)
Mike Watt
Mike Watt is a bassist, singer and songwriter who has been active since the late 70's and is still plugging along today. He first became popular in the early 1980's with a band called The Minutemen, a very influential hardcore punk group from San Pedro, California. Shortly after his bandmate and best friend, D. Boon, passed away in 1985 at the young age of 27, he and Minutemen drummer George Hurley formed fIREHOSE with singer Ed Crawford. From then on, Mike Watt has been involved in various projects, including several solo albums. He is known as one of the greatest bassists of modern times, certainly one of the greatest bassists in punk rock history, and heavily influential on many musicians who came after him.
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The Minutemen - Black Sheep
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fIREHOSE - Toolin'
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Mike Watt - Bird-in-the-Helmet-Man
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Floored by Four - Watt
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The Reactionaries - Brigate Rosse
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Some of Mike Watt's best Minutemen basslines:
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Here is an excellent documentary about the Minutemen. Mike Watt has the largest presence in the documentary, but there are also interviews with drummer George Hurley, as well as other well known musicians (Flea, Jello Biafra, Ian MacKaye, J Mascis, etc...) who weren't directly affiliated with the band but understood the great impact they had on 80's/90's alternative. It's called "We Jam Econo", and it came out in 2005.
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Learn more about Mike Watt and the Minutemen:
Mike Watt (Wikipedia)
The Minutemen (Wikipedia)
Mike Watt's biography from his own home page (Hootpage)
Mike Watt's profile (Earpollution)
Mike Watt's interview with Bass Player Magazine (2013)
Rolling Stone's article about D. Boon and The Minutemen (2010)
"Our Band Could Be Your Life" (A 2001 book about the Minutemen)
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The Minutemen - Black Sheep
fIREHOSE - Toolin'
Mike Watt - Bird-in-the-Helmet-Man
Floored by Four - Watt
The Reactionaries - Brigate Rosse
Some of Mike Watt's best Minutemen basslines:
Here is an excellent documentary about the Minutemen. Mike Watt has the largest presence in the documentary, but there are also interviews with drummer George Hurley, as well as other well known musicians (Flea, Jello Biafra, Ian MacKaye, J Mascis, etc...) who weren't directly affiliated with the band but understood the great impact they had on 80's/90's alternative. It's called "We Jam Econo", and it came out in 2005.
Learn more about Mike Watt and the Minutemen:
Mike Watt (Wikipedia)
The Minutemen (Wikipedia)
Mike Watt's biography from his own home page (Hootpage)
Mike Watt's profile (Earpollution)
Mike Watt's interview with Bass Player Magazine (2013)
Rolling Stone's article about D. Boon and The Minutemen (2010)
"Our Band Could Be Your Life" (A 2001 book about the Minutemen)
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Background Music
Jeremy Soule has composed the scores to the last 3 Elder Scrolls games (Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim), and he did a great job on all of them. "Skyrim Atmospheres" consists of various pieces of ambiance, sound effects, and music from the game. This is a long track (about 42 minutes), calm and relaxing the whole way through.
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In 1987, Barbra Streisand starred in a film called "Nuts", and she also composed the orchestral soundtrack. Believe it or not, it's actually good. Only 12,000 copies were pressed. This song entitled "The Hospital" is very mellow with light, soft strings.
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Abandoned In Sleep is the second album by Anduin (Jonathan Lee). I've found this short description on other sites: "It's an amplified document of the moments before sleep, living dreams drenched in warm low end, full of shadowy audio treasures. Dark ambient electronica..." This track is a live performance with Svarte Greiner, and was originally released by itself as a 7" record. Eerily dark, drearily murky.
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In 1987, Barbra Streisand starred in a film called "Nuts", and she also composed the orchestral soundtrack. Believe it or not, it's actually good. Only 12,000 copies were pressed. This song entitled "The Hospital" is very mellow with light, soft strings.
Abandoned In Sleep is the second album by Anduin (Jonathan Lee). I've found this short description on other sites: "It's an amplified document of the moments before sleep, living dreams drenched in warm low end, full of shadowy audio treasures. Dark ambient electronica..." This track is a live performance with Svarte Greiner, and was originally released by itself as a 7" record. Eerily dark, drearily murky.