New Balance Singapore are currently running a photo competition entitled Show Your Balance, the idea being to express the theme of “balance” using New Balance products. Winning means “a year’s supply of New Balance” (not sure how much that is) so I have had a go. If you were to go there and vote for me I would certainly appreciate it.

In an effort to increase #content I am getting involved in the internetular pat on the back that is “Charts”.

1. Azari & III “Reckless (With Your Love)” [Permanent Vacation]
2. The Swiss “Soap Opera” [Modular]
3. Black Meteoric Star “World Eater” [DFA]
4. ORS “Dream Machine” [Salsoul]
5. Tracy Weber “One Step at a Time” (Instrumental) [QROA]
and Ladyhawke “Magic” (Donnie Sloan Dub) [Modular]

Below are a few screenshots from the excellent bonus feature MTV Premiere Party on the 20th Anniversary Edition of Purple Rain. It’s pretty much an unadulterated, live MTV special (operating on what I would refer to as a “raw budget”) featuring VJ Mark Goodman on the red carpet at Mann’s Chinese Theatre for the premiere and then later a black cocktail table at The Palace for the party with a bundle of massive guests (Lindsay Buckingham, Eddie Murphy, Little Richard, Lionel Richie, John Mellencamp, Pee Wee Herman, etc) in addition to Prince, The Revolution and other family members like Sheila E, Dez, Apollonia and The Time.

Minimal decorations, significant vibe.

(l-r) Eddie Murphy, Charlie Murphayyyyyyyyyyyy, ?, Mark Goodman, Casio.

LIttle Richard being a scary weirdo with a Bible that he had custom-made for Prince.

Does anyone know who this is? She is the only interviewee to not have her name at the bottom of the screen when first appearing. She talks about her band having an album ready to go early “next year” [1985] and Mark Goodman congratulates her on the massive success of her recent duet.

RARE BONUS: Quick shot of Prince (black-clad blur at front right of shot) having an altercation with Jellybean Johnson from The Time during a semi-clandestine Apollonia 6 rehearshal.

RARE BONUS: Quick shot of Apollonia in the barn from the raunchy “barn love scene” which didn’t make it to the final cut and has never surfaced anywhere.

The Swiss are a live disco trio from Adelaide, South Australia, fleshed out in the 4th dimension by ultraproducer Donnie Sloan (also from Adelaide, South Australia) and I have a huge amount of love all for them and what they do. In terms of what they sound like, here are a prior 41 words from elsewhere:

…crisp and snappy drums, quicksand laser-sludge bass, dizzy pops & flourishes, melody rays and synthesised strings that glide on the thermal currents of life. It’s as much a breathy telephone call as it is a mid-range Bordeaux shared between ensconced lovers.

Their recorded material is pretty spot-on but it’s their live set that’s the real mindblinder, check it out whenever possible.

You can hear a satisfying portion of The Swiss’ output at their SoundCloud or buy The Bubble Bath EP 12″ at the Modular Shop here or on iTunes.

The whole series of Prince and (the Golden Era of) the Revolution rehearsing in a Minneapolis warehouse has already been featured on a number of different social networking convergence points but I can’t avoid putting “All Day, All Night” and “Irresistible Bitch” on here. It’s so satisfying and such a privilege to have this candid glimpse into a 26 year old Prince surrounded by friends, doing what he loves, in an environment he is more than at home in and has total control over (although I suppose that translates to it being pretty much the same as him being on stage, minus an audience).

Thank you very much to Pepepurito2 of YouTube for plucking these from the hardcore Prince fandom bootleg circuit and sharing them with the internet.

UPDATE: AS IS THE WAY WITH PRINCE VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET, THESE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. BIT OF A DOWNER BUT THEY WERE KILLER WHILE THEY LASTED.

I only found out about Aubrey Beardsley and his illustrations a few nights ago via this really good book. He died from tuberculosis at 25 but the work he knocked out prior to that is fairly extensive and mostly pretty incredible. Generally speaking, he is into empty expanse bordered by detail, tits and an overall aesthetic which somehow straddles ukiyo-e and 80’s cocktail lounge prints whilst retaining a medieval euro look. Given how brilliant his work still looks now, I can only imagine how mindblinding it was when it first came out - the above print (”A Platonic Lament”, accompanying his friend Oscar WIlde’s version of Salome) is from 1894.

-THE FACE
-Flash mobs
-Burlesque “revival”
-Bakelite/lucite/perspex accessories
-Lumidee “Never Leave You”
-Trendy Beyonce
-Blue to pink gradient

I am thrilled with these shoes.

Jeni, thank you for your patience & photography.

With Monkey Island getting a lot of re-hype lately I think it’s only fair that people remember how great LOOM is. Released in 1990, it was a Lucasfilm Games fantasy adventure game that blended a great story with highly enjoyable, non-annoying gameplay (you can’t die, you’re never forced to completely restart the game and you’re never crowbarred into hours of trial and error). You play as Bobbin Threadbare, a member of the Guild of Weavers venturing throughout the land learning and casting spells on your musical staff to solve problems and ultimately important mysteries. A great moment in computer game history.

A screenshot tribute to April O’Neil - the character with a great outfit and a keen nose for a story who is almost constantly getting kidnapped/captured/trapped/held hostage. She is constantly sticking her neck out for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and being rewarded with a pretty hard time, what a downer of a lifestyle.

Being captured by a mutant fishman and dragged through the sewer to a sleazy nutbar genetecist who is planning to turn you into a mutant fishwoman is a pretty rough ride.

A few days ago I was listening to the original version of this track on a pair of $2 earphones and somebody came up to ask me something so I took one earphone out in an effort to be polite. Noticing how good just the right channel of this track sounds really outshone anything this person may have been saying.

Christine Perfect “No Road is the Right Road” (Roulade’s Wrong Road Right Channel Split)

WHAT IF I WAS A CHARACTER IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE?

Name: Roulade.
Hometown: Dampier, Western Australia.
Weapon: Holy Sword of Newest Balance.
Aesthetic: Salt n Pepa meets Purple Rain via a black / really real blue / prussian blue colourway.
Powers: Mind travel, good at sword(s).
Weaknesses: Fatal wounds, event scheduling.
Allies: Tiga, the Ghost of Fred Perry.
Enemies: Chris Brown?
Indifferent to: the barista at Coffee, Tea or Me?(.)

The upside down sword says that I’m pretty casual about things but the presence of a sword says that I know how to use it. The apparent aggression of the clenched fist is balanced out by the roguish nonchalance of the scarf & t-shirt combination (not to be confused with “Fan of The Arcade Fire”) and the semi-shevelled hair.

WHAT IF SOUNDWAVE & POOCHIE WENT ON A TACKY PACKAGE HOLIDAY TOGETHER IN THE EARLY 90’s AND SENT A POSTCARD BACK TO CYBERTRON / ITCHY & SCRATCHY?