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]

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.

Over the last three weeks I have been running Chatroulade as a Roulade-only alternative to Chatroulette. Success is a difficult thing to measure. The first two episodes have generally been me lifecasting and hosting a quiz but this week I took a vaguely more Pump Up the Volume approach and pseudo-pioneered text-based radio. The entire transcript is available here and the tracklist (based on songs I really enjoy that are less than five minutes in length) is below:

1. Fleetwood Mac “You & I, Part I”
2. Ago “For You”
3. International Music System “Dancing Therapy”
4. Kasso “Brazilian Dancer”
5. Prince “Soft & Wet”
6. The Tony Monn Concept “Who Built the Pyramids”
7. Rocket Science “Being Followed”
8. Toni Toni Lee “Toni’s Outro”
9. T. Rex “Mambo Sun”
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Y Control”
11. Andre Cymone “Livin’ in the New Wave”
12. Mazarati “Players’ Ball”
13. Tapps “Don’t Pretend to Know”
14. New Order “Face Up”
15. Cut Copy “Saturdays” (Reprise)

CHATROULADE AT CHATROULADE.COM TUESDAY NIGHTS 9PM-10PM

…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.

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