Words by Max Vernon

I personally love when music tells a great story, so I try to create portraits of the people I meet. I admit I’m not above writing songs to get back at people who suck (as in the case of “Around Your Finger” and “Your Girlfriend”), as long as there is some kind of disconnect between the emo-ness of the music and the lyrics to keep it interesting. To me there’s nothing worse than a whiny, pissed off break up song that sounds like a whiny, pissed off break up song. But, if you take those bitter, slightly immature lyrics and stick them with a jaunty honky tonk jazz piano riff, then it’s a whole different creature…

If there’s one song on the EP that isn’t like the others (SAT flashback time), it’s probably “Hunted.” I still have no idea why or how I ended up writing a song about Grendel. I didn’t even really like the book! Must have been some good weed…

All of the songs on Manic Impression were recorded in my bedroom with basically just a laptop, a microphone, and a keyboard/guitar. I hear fuller arrangements in my head for a lot of these tracks and hope to rerecord them with more ambitious orchestration someday soon.

Music Is Art

In honor of the nature of this blog, I thought it also might be cool to share some of my other art with you guys also. I think the visual art and the costumes I create for performances are more surreal and a bit darker than my music, but it’s all just two sides of the same coin. The new songs I’m recording for my second EP kind of bridge the gap thematically between my music and art.

This is the outfit I created for my recent CMJ show, using about 1000 googly eyes.

.Inspirations of Music.

There’s so much incredible music being made right now, I can’t get enough! I love Final Fantasy, Fever Ray, St. Vincent, Beach House, and Joanna Newsom in particular. However, I feel a really deep sense of connection with Laura Nyro’s music. She had a lot of success writing for other artists in the late sixties, but I could never understand why people weren’t as receptive to her as a solo artist. She’s by far her best interpreter. Her ability to conform the pop music idiom to her crazy song structures, tempo and key changes, as well as her courage to pursue a musical vision that was so distinct from her contemporaries…it’s very inspirational to me. I could write an essay, but it’d be much better if you just listened for yourself.

.Fashion of Alexander Mcqueen.

His new Atlantis themed collection blows my mind. Those shoes/torture devices should be in a museum. I love the fearless creativity of his work, it inspires me to think outside the box when I’m making my costumes for shows and can’t afford to spend $12,000 on a jacket. I think life would be more exciting if people had the courage to turn themselves into walking works of art. All you need is hot glue, glitter, and a salvation army… check it out here: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2010RTW-AMCQUEEN

.Art of Gottfried Helnwein.

Gottfried Helnwein is probably my favorite visual artist. I love this particular painting in which he reimagines the annunciation as an angel coming out of the TV screen. His work tends to be very provocative and macabre, but it definitely resonates with me. He basically does everything- film, photography, painting, drawing, set design, makeup, etc. Check out more of his stuff here: http://www.helnwein.com/

.Philosophy of  Michel Foucault.

I think it might be a central ambition of mine to be the first Foucauldian pop singer…

As a student of queer theory, Foucault is kind of the starting point before you begin your slow descent into having an anxiety disorder haha!  There is no centralized power to fight against! There is no such thing as sexual repression, because it is the repression that creates desire in the first place! We should all fist each other! You know, it’s all very enlightening…to anyone interested, be sure to check out History of Sexuality vol. 1, as well as Halperin’s Saint Foucault.

Blips Don’t Lie
Music & Words by Microfilm

LISTEN

Water Drops On Burning Rocks (Nine Devices Remix)

Teenage Symphonies (Olivia Hussey’s Reprise)

Matt Mercer: Working on this EP took a bit longer than past endeavours. We aimed for something brighter, more pop, without compromising the things that get us excited.  I try to avoid repeating myself too much, although there are nuances and details and samples and sounds that are probably common in some of our other output. We definitely steered clear of the gravity of our last full-length and also the vague chip-tune flavor of the last EP.

Our initial starting point was acid house as a touchstone, but as with most influences the finished product obviously veers far off that course.  “His N Hers Hibernation” is straight up freestyle with some added quirk. We liked the idea of making 3 fairly pop tracks and then remixing them with people we know and respect.  Kid Whatever (one half of Peroxide Mocha, who we also recently remixed) turned out this full-on italo-disco-meets-Hi-NRG slammer that puts a smile on my face every time, and The Astrolabe from Chicago did a really great job of taking our slower original and punching it up a few notches, adding some great 90s throwback touches with some piano riffs and flourishes.  Nine Devices is sort of the odd man out with his more sparse treatment of “Water Drops on Burning Rocks,” all but discarding our original audio tracks but being quite clever with his use of Sarah Nixey’s vocal backwards… to be honest, I have no idea what he sampled from her, but backwards it says “So hold me now” which is sort of haunting.

Matt Keppel: From a thematic/concept standpoint, I originally thought of this EP as a homage to house music in it’s various forms.  I think my original working title was even ‘The House Sound of Microfilm’, like one of those old late ‘80s house compilations! Just the idea of making a fluid, dancefloor EP whereas our last one was much more electro, kind of brittle, and chunky, if that makes sense.  I also had the idea of framing the EP like David Bowie’s ‘Station to Station’ or Pet Shop Boys ‘Introspective’ (both 6 track EPs), but where we wrote every one of the original tracks as a potential single.

Current Obsessions of Matt Keppel

Music of Billy MacKenzie

The lyrical ideas about the songs for this EP revolved around characters in relationship turmoil, except the first track ‘I’ll Sing Like Billy MacKenzie in Heaven’.  That was a homage to the great but neglected (by many) talents of Billy MacKenzie, the late singer from the ‘80s UK band The Associates. He had a few hits in the early ‘80s in England but now is a bit of a cult star here in the US.

I’m intrigued by artists like MacKenzie that come from nowhere, become really big for a short moment, and then disappear into obscurity, but not for lack of talent.  He had a beautiful, operatic voice and an insane lyrical mind. Like Morrissey, but weirder.  I love completely off the wall, smart and original lyricists and he was one of them.  I’m glad his music has been reissued/re-evaluated recently but he still seems to be one of those acquired tastes that will never become really huge and that’s kind of magical in itself.

Music of Wild Beasts

I just stumbled upon these guys this summer; don’t remember how exactly and now I listen to some of their new album ‘Two Dancers’ almost everyday.  I find their whole aura fantastic. Music journalists like to describe how bands create their own world within their music (and I never believe it because they’re usually wrong about the band they’re describing) but Wild Beasts really do that.  They remind me of early records by The Smiths or Suede, where it’s kind of loose, hazy, weirdly sexual and strange.  It sounds really epic but not in a plodding, like Coldplay-way, but in a crazy, theatrical ‘The Queen is Dead’ way.

Blogs of Cracker Finishing School
& The Sound and the Furry

These sites are run by the same guy.  Don’t know anything about him other than he has good taste!  ‘Cracker…’ is more of an art blog, a Tumblr page with a lot of really great images, either funny or sexy.  ‘…Furry’ is a blog of random cute, handsome bearded and/or hairy guys who are in indie rock bands.  They are labeled as “fake boyfriends” and I think everyone can agree that it’s fun to have fake boyfriends who are bearded and cute.  Well, some of us can.

Current Obsessions of Matthew Mercer

Music of The Caretaker

I once saw Jim Kirby perform in Cleveland as V/VM and it was one of the weirdest and loudest things I’ve ever seen. It’s a bit of a blur, but key takeaways were a man in a pig suit illuminated only by his laptop screen and a sort of chugging, rhythmic pitch-bending mangle of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.”  The Caretaker is sort of the ethereal ghost of that weirdness.  It’s The Shining after Jack Nicholson and co. have left the building — the aftermath of a party in the past.  There’s dust in the air and this is the sound of how light strikes it.  It’s haunting, but there’s something warm and inviting in balance; you don’t want it to go, you want it to stay….

Music of DJ Sprinkles

Terre Thaemlitz’s new album as DJ Sprinkles is a great deep house album, reductive but lush.  It’s a statement on how house music doesn’t really help us escape, but brings us closer to our pain as a shared emotional and perhaps subversive experience — in addition to his more typical politics about gender and sexuality, how it relates to this music historically.  (His monologue about a “Madonna-free zone” is effectively wry.)

Music of Warp20 Box Set

The new Warp20 box set is a marvel of packaging. While its contents musically are, for me, a little hit or miss, it’s so well-assembled, a triumph of surface. Uncoated, blind-embossed 10″ vinyl sleeves (5 plates), high-gloss hardcover 10″ CD book packaging, a dense book of all Warp artwork since its inception — it’s impressive and justifies its price. There’s a mixed bag of cover versions on one of the 2xCD sets inside, but it’s practically worth it for Tim Exile’s cover of Jamie Lidell’s “A Little Bit More.” (Tim Exile is one to watch, too — his last album Listening Tree was very exciting to my ears)

Genre of Dubstep

I think some of the stranger hybrid dubstep stuff out there like Brackles, Apple Pips, Rustie is all worth a gander. The straight-ahead wowowowowow-snarrrrrl dubstep stuff wears on me, but the more spry, lively, jerky stuff I’ve been hearing more recently has me paying attention.

A few sites to check out ::

Apple Pips Recordings | Brackles |Zomby Productions

Application of DopplerPad

I’ve spent the better part of the year collaborating on the creation of DopplerPad which is an iPhone-based touch instrument. It’s been inspiring to be part of something using new technology and marrying that with music in a cool and interesting way.

Books of Hand Job: A Catalog of Type
& Over & Over

2 books recently that I found inspiring: Over & Over and Hand Job, both by Princeton Architectural Press. Over & Over is a nice collection of hand-drawn patterns, appealing to the minimalist in me but with a less mechanical, more human touch. Hand Job is the typographic equivalent, focusing exclusively on hand-drawn typography. It runs the gamut from tacky or ironic to beautiful, ornate and sincere. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time in front of a computer that I have an affinity to hand-drawn things recently.

(Toronto Film Festival 2009 Photographed by Ademar Dias for Lifeline Photography)

The Experience of Being a DJ
Written by Lindsay Luv

My background was originally in the music industry having worked in business development at the Orchard and as an agent with top artists like The Raveonettes, as a DJ booker with notable DJs like Eddie Baez, and then in brand event marketing with emerging DJs and artists including Justice, Chromeo, Ladytron, Crystal Castles, Dangerous Muse, Busy P, The Presets and so many others. For five years I worked the business side of the sphere yet my jobs always relied on my ability to seek out new artists and emerging talent. This was definitely an inevitable setup for me to one day pursue DJing although I never even thought it a possibility until my friend, Adam Goldstein aka the late DJ AM, pointed out I should give it a whirl.

I was sitting with him in his room at the Bryant Park Hotel catching up before his set at Deko Lounge in Jersey and shouting some of the latest tunes I had discovered from relatively unknown artists at the time, Canada’s Thurderheist and Dragonette, as well as LA’s own Shiny Toy Guns, as he downloaded them in a fury. Adam loved the tracks and gave me a sideways smile and asked me if I have ever considered DJing…. No, I hadn’t.

(Photo Credit : Coachella 2009- Palm Springs | Photographed by: Denise Mijares |
MakeUp & Hair: Courtney Wolfe | Styled by: Dalit Gwenna | Shirt by Wildfox Couture)

When the recession hit and music marketing started to hit a standstill, I remember sitting on my couch bored and restless thinking what the HELL am I going to do with my life! I remembered Adam’s words and I just picked up and jetted over to Guitar Center and bought everything I would need to teach myself to DJ (with some help from my DJ friends). Without a trust fund or a sugar daddy (ha!) the basic facts were I needed to make money to survive here and fast by switching my focus in the music industry. However instead of taking the easy way out-Ipod DJing etc-I wanted to learn from the ground-up no matter how challenging it seemed and eventually be respected for my craft. With my friends the Boyd brothers opening up their clubs to me, and DJ friends like Cindy Kim, I studied, practiced and learned what I needed to start spinning. I practiced at friends’ studio spaces and these venues during the day for hours –pretending the place was packed.

Landing great gigs was made possible by my industry contacts from my past work and thousands of followers on Myspace, Facebook, and Joonbug. Today, after a year of full-time DJing (and always practicing every day) I still feel like I have so much more to learn. To be a ‘DJ’ these days is a loose word, but to be a true ‘DJ’ is a whole different ballgame, and one that I continue to self teach myself every day and improve upon. My business motto is to start in the mail-room if you want to be a CEO, and I apply that to my own skill set and career. I know who I am and where I started and where I am going. I think if you want to be successful at any activity you need to put in the time but stay confident in your progress and be real.

What AM saw in me was my ability to discover new music and emerging artists–I think that is what makes me special in my craft– the same way mash-ups are what made him extra special in his.  I was so excited to one day maybe have an opportunity to DJ with him and am so incredibly sad he is gone.  He is and will forever remain a huge inspiration in my career.

(Photo Credit : Coachella 2009- Palm Springs | Photographed by: Denise Mijares |
MakeUp & Hair: Courtney Wolfe | Styled by: Dalit Gwenna)

Things that I’m Currently Obsessed With::

ART of Sebastian Picker

I dated his nephew, singer-songwriter Pablo, for a number of years in college and fell in love with his artwork. Pablo had a few of his paintings and when I left Boston to pursue a career in NYC he gave me an original piece from his early days to christen my new apartment. The canvas hangs above my bed and his use of a monochromatic color scheme is calming and stunning and sends a message of struggle, hope, peace and love. His work is highly regarded in the art world and I hope to buy more pieces in the near future.

MUSIC of The Raveonettes

I essentially never stop talking about my favorite band, The Raveonettes! I have grown up with this band throughout my NYC years. They were in many ways my first big ‘break” in working in the music industry. I came here by myself after college from Boston- not knowing anyone and knowing I had to “make it” here to survive.

I began working with the management team for this new band right when they were releasing their very first EP “Whip It On”, and have continued to support and work with them in varying capacities even today. The Raveonettes have released multiple full length albums and have toured with the likes of Depeche Mode and the Strokes, playing hundreds of sold out shows in the US and abroad.

The band is truly original and their sound is unlike any other artist I have heard today. I have seen them perform in major cities– Chicago, Austin, LA, NYC– and my parents will see them this week in Boston. They are both friends and an inspiration and continue to surprise and delight me with each CD released.

MOVIES of The 80s

I am pretty much obsessed with everything 80’s and am known to watch Pretty In Pink on rainy days. I have loved re-discovering my 80’s movie favorites and can’t get over how kooky and borderline creepy Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth” is! I love, love, love David Bowie and think this movie and the music and imagery is simply genius! Some other favorites include Weird Science, Lost Boys, Big, Say Anything, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Can’t Buy Me Love. The 80’s rock!

Lindsay Luv MixTape
(For Streaming Purposes Only)

I love electro house and the 80’s, so here are some of my favorite tracks of today and yesterday, all with an electric edge! Rawk!

Heavy Cross- The Gossip (Fred Falke Remix)

Night By Night- Chromeo

Do Ya Think I’m Sexy- Rod Stewart (Discotech Remix)

Little Booty Girl- Thunderheist

Paris Is Burning- Ladyhawke (Cut Copy Remix)

I Remember- Deadmau5 (Caspa Remix)

What Is Love- Haddaway (Refreshmento Remix)

One Day- The Juan Maclean (Surkin Remix)

Fever- Madonna & EnVogue (Dance Floor Mix)

PLUS FREE DOWNLOAD

Remixed by Lindsay Luv, D-Major and Bobby Blaze

Fake Gold- Tigercity (Major BlazInLuv Remix)

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