Wilco Photo Contest - Deadline July 7

wilcows
Originally uploaded by ckrose17

There are just a few days left to enter the "semi-regular Wilco photo contest." This year's theme is: "summer and throwing in a  little Wilco can’t hurt." 15 finalists will be chosen and several winners will receive free passes to Wilco's inaugural music and arts festival, the SolidSound Festival at MAss MoCA in August. So what are you waiting for?  Enter the contest already! (And while you're at it, check out the Flickr group of their previous contest in 2008.)

Summer Classes in Manga and Anime

How's this for a study abroad program? Temple University-Japan is currently offering a 6-week-long Summer Institute of Studies in Japanese Popular Culture for undergraduate students. From the looks of it, the multidisciplinary curriculum combines anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies. The faculty includes Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica, and Patrick Galbraith, author of The Otaku Encyclopedia. And yes, I know--this has nothing to do with music or photography--but I thought I'd post about it anyway. (And while we're on the subject, yes, the blog is back in business! More to come...)

On hiatus...

Things are a little busy here at ILYT, so the blog is on hiatus for now... We'll return sometime in 2010. See you then!

Google Music, redux

Here's an interesting, well-argued piece on Google's music search function that's been making the rounds. The gist is that it won't really have much of an impact, except that people may use Google a little more often. Time will tell, but I'm inclined to agree at this point...

Google Music?

What exactly is Google's new music search service? Google's waiting until later this week to tell us what to expect, but in the meantime, The NY Times has an interesting article about it.

What's known so far: People will be able to discover music and then immediately discover where to buy it. The consumer tendency is instantly satisfied, and the wheels of commerce chug merrily away. According to The NY Times, the music isn't hosted on Google's site. "But it has struck deals with several streaming music services to let people easily sample music directly from the search engine." Sites like Lala and iLike will allow searchers to either check out a sample clip or listen to an entire song in a pop-up box.

This strikes me as a good thing, so long as Google maintains its commitment to an open internet. And it seems as if that is indeed the case (from The NY Times' Bits blog: “No money is changing hands in these deals, a person with knowledge of the discussions said.”) Still, the question remains as to whether this will bring us that much closer to an inexpensive streaming music model, as opposed to one based around fixed-price downloads. And it seems like the answer to that question may be a qualified yes. Facebook's announcement of a deal that would allow streaming access for 10 cents a song also moves the ball ever so slightly in that direction.

Digital Dianas

I just picked up the new Diana F+ adaptor, a plastic lens mount for the Canon digital EOS series. The end result: Now I can use cheap toy camera lenses with my digital SLR. The kit I purchased came with two lenses: a wide-angle and a close-up lens, and the whole shebang cost just a little over $60. So now I have yet another means of taking blurry, low-contrast, low-fi pictures--and with the digital camera, no less.

The look is almost conceptual in and of itself: an expensive digital camera with a cheap toy camera lens attached to it. Not being overly concerned with appearances, I'm more curious about the results. My nagging suspicion is that the pictures will come across as gimmicky, rather than, say, transcendently beautiful. In which case, there's always eBay.

I'll probably resist using the Diana lenses for anything other than concert photography, a backup option for the occasional portrait, and perhaps as an innovative way to torture the cat (you have to get really close to your subject to use the close-up lens). But I'm anxious to see if they can enable me to capture live performances more expressionistically than "regular" lenses can. There's a lot of potential here. For a long-term documentary photography project, these lenses probably wouldn't make much sense. But for concert photography...well, I'll let you know in a week...

Canon EOS and Nikon F mounts haven't changed over the years, so the adaptors work with basically any model of EOS and F series cameras, film or digital. So, while the debate about whether this is one more nail in the coffin of analog photography is probably raging somewhere, I really don't think it will have an impact. Also, hardcore film photographers tend to prefer certain types of cameras. (Leicas, anyone?) And the system flows both ways. Digital users who try out the Diana lenses may be tempted to try out a Diana or Holga film camera, and that may lead them to become film enthusiasts. 

Plus, there's still no genuinely viable digital substitute for black-and-white film. (Those expensive Photoshop plug-ins? Not worth your while.)

The Story Behind The Shot #1: Diana Wong

Photo Credit: Diana Wong

I recently came across Diana Wong’s excellent series of pictures from the WFMU Fest. One in particular (the one above, as a matter of fact) really grabbed hold of me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It’s a perfectly captured moment and definitely punk rock. It’s also the inaugural entry for the brand-new ILYT series "The Story Behind the Shot.” (The young man having a bit of stomach trouble is the drummer for Pissed Jeans, a hardcore band out of Allentown, Pennsylvania and Friday night's headlining act.)

A senior at Columbia University, a self-taught photographer, and a native New Yorker, Diana already has a good deal of professional experience. She has shot for The House List and 'Sup Magazine, and contributed to Interview, The Fader, Papermag, and more. She recently took some time to talk about how she made the picture and answer a few questions.

I Like Yellow Things: Describe what was happening when you took the picture.

Diana Wong: I was right at the front, to the side to avoid the pathetic mosh pit fanatics (there was a parting-of-the-sea moment, where a stage diver jumped into an empty floor). Mark Korvette, the singer, had stuck his shirt into the front of his jeans and started to swing his hips around. The bassist and guitarists were also coming close together, and I thought, "Yay! Group jam photo!" (as in, a photo where the entire band is engaged with each other, really into the moment). So I was already zoomed into the action center of the stage and suddenly the drummer stops, leans over his kit, and starts spewing. I somehow snapped the shot right at the moment with the heaviest flow of vomit.

ILYT: Did you anticipate this moment just before it happened (was there any way to?) or were you shooting "in the moment"?

DW: There is no anticipating projectile vomit. I was simply lucky, finger on the trigger.

ILYT: How many shots were you able to take?

DW: I had maybe 5 subsequent shots, but this one was exactly the moment when he let it all out.

ILYT: What camera settings do you use? Do you tend to stick with the same settings while you're shooting, or do you change them?

DW: I use the widest aperture, and I vary the shutter speed accordingly. Since club shows usually don't have camera restrictions, I can photograph throughout the entire set and play around with settings and angles.

ILYT: Deciding whether to use flash in low-light situations definitely isn't easy. Without a flash, the picture would have had a completely different aesthetic feeling. How do you decide when to use a flash? Also, do you prefer on-camera or off-camera flash?

DW: I try not to use flash at live shows because I think it bothers everyone. Moreover, you don't really get the mood of the moment. For instance, during the WFMU fest, I was photographing Cold Cave's set, and the band was completely and unforgivingly bathed in red light. I debated using flash, but decided not to because the shots wouldn't convey the moodiness of the band. Though I risk sounding too cerebral on the matter, I'll say this: I recently encountered a quote from Cartier-Bresson, his advice to readers of Photography magazine in 1955: "And no photographs taken with the aid of flashlight either, if only out of respect for the actual light - even when there's not any of it." But in the case of this photo, the light was really magenta at the moment, and I needed to use my flash (Speedlite 580EX). Sometimes it's just technically necessary.

ILYT: Any advice for photographers when it comes to taking better concert photos? What's something that's essential to keep in mind when shooting?

DW: You need a fast lens—a minimum of f/2.8. When you're taking photos, you should try to capture "the moments": action shots, jumps, cool poses, expressive faces... Easier said than done, I know. And finally, you should look at music magazines, concert photography blogs, and Flickr for photographers who really inspire you.

Pissed Jeans - I've Still Got You (Ice Cream) (courtesy of Sub Pop)

Great Lake Swimmers, The Wooden Birds, Sharon Van Etten live at the Black Cat

Great Lake Swimmers

The Wooden Birds

Sharon Van Etten

As much as I was looking forward to seeing the Great Lake Swimmers last Thursday night, I was even more excited about opening act the Wooden Birds. The Wooden Birds is the latest project from Andrew Kenny, the singer/songwriter behind the American Analog Set. Kenny also sat in on David Wingo's excellent 2007 album Ola Podrida and Wingo returns the favor on the Wooden Birds' Magnolia. Matt Pond of the eponymous band Matt Pond PA and former AnAmSet collaborator Leslie Sisson also fill in on guitar and are part of the touring group as well. The band opened with "False Alarm," the first song off their debut album Magnolia, And at just the right moment, late in their set, they broke out the great AmAnSet song "Aaron and Maria". I could have easily listened to the hushed vocals and melancholic instrumentation for another hour (for the rest of the night, really). Hopefully they'll be back in town soon.

The Great Lake Swimmers came on afterwards and played a nice long set of music. They ended with an audience request ("You have to play it for me! I'm from Toronto!") and a three-song encore.

Rounding out an unusually strong triple-bill was opening act Sharon Van Etten, who completely charmed the small audience that gathered to hear her perform (well, OK...all except for the three people camped out at the front right of the stage who texted, carried on a conversation, and also somehow managed to spill a full glass of beer during the 45 minute set). Her songs fall squarely into the female-singer-songwriter-with-a-guitar category, but there's something that set hers above and apart.

The Wooden Birds - False Alarm (courtesy of Barsuk Records)

Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit - Day 3

Things have been a little hectic since the conference ended, but finally, after a lengthy delay, I'm happy to present the Day 3 roundup.

I was running a little late, but arrived in time to catch the conversation between former Fugazi frontman and Dischord Records co-founder Ian MacKaye and MC5's Wayne Kramer. I enjoyed hearing MacKaye talk a little about Dischord's standard arrangement with the bands on their label (no contracts, no lawyers, and complete transparency). And the audience seemed mesmerized by the two rock legends sharing the stage.

Another exciting discussion focused on the popular European website Spotify, and whether the concept of music as a service rather than a product would go over as well in the U.S. as it has overseas.

Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek explained the model. Basically, it's a peer-to-peer online music service that offers subscribers the ability to stream close to 5 million recordings. The big question is: Provided all of the licensing issues were cleared up and it was able to debut in the U.S., would it offer a more sustainable model than iTunes? Sites like Pandora are highly popular, but that's thanks in large part to the fact that they're free. Hard to say if Spotify represents the future, but a lot of people at the conference were really excited by the possibilities it offers. Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot has a very positive take on it here.

San Francisco-based DJ and video mashup artist Mike Relm added an intelligent perspective to the ongoing debate about music sampling. In essence, he argued that as long as you're not infringing upon an artist's sales or using their work in a way that could damage their careers, you should be able to sample their work. As a DJ, he's promoting the songs he's working with--a point that's often lost on music industry professionals and publicists. He added that since he doesn't sell the mashups and sampled pieces he creates, licensing music and paying royalties would make what he does financially impossible.

Later that afternoon, during the Future of Music Journalism breakout session, NPR's Bob Boilen dropped by to ask the panel a question: In a perfect world, given limitless possibilities, what would you like the future of music criticism to be? Wired writer Eliot Van Buskirk gave a great answer that I haven't been able to stop thinking about since. He's turned it into a great column.

Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit - Day 2

It's a little late and I'm still processing everything, so bear with me. Reporting back from the second day of the conference, highlights included a lively rollercoaster of a debate on music sampling in hip-hop and the issues surrounding licensing, copyright, and artist compensation. At the end of the panel discussion, the issue was no closer to being anywhere near resolved in terms of what direction to move in. It's incredibly divisive, but fascinating to hear different sides of the argument. People in the audience really got into it as well. A lot of cheering and booing. Less like a conference, more like a Yankees game.

The keynote conversation between Senator Al Franken (just typing that makes me happy) and Mike Mills from R.E.M. was also enlightening, and proved that there was at least one issue that everyone in the room could agree on: net neutrality and the dangers threatening the openness of the internet. As Michael Bracy talked about yesterday, internet service providers, in the interest of increasing their profit margins, are interested in pursuing deals that would direct their subscribers to certain marketplace sites while denying or restricting access to others. Of course, this doesn't just affect musicians. As Franken said, it has the power to transform a free, open, democratic system into a corporate pay-to-play situation where those that can't compete financially simply aren't allowed in.

This issue also affects free speech, he pointed out (determining what kind of content moves at what speeds across your servers is a short hop away from determining what's allowed on at all). And it threatens innovation. And restricting innovation would adversely affect the nation's economy as a whole. He announced that the FCC would be issuing pro-net neutrality regulations soon that would also require transparency on the part of ISPs.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who gave the second keynote speech of the day, added that universal broadband access is the major infrastructure challenge of the 21st century thus far. Putting it in a music-industry context, he pointed out that less than 50% of mainstream country music fans in rural areas have internet access at home.

More tomorrow, the final day of the conference.

Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit - Day 1

The 2009 Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. is now underway. I'll be there for the entirety, to report back as events unfold. I'm covering it for the day job (I proposed an article on it to the powers-that-be, and they said yes) and I'll be blogging about it here as well.

Today's highlights included Michael Bracy, co-founder and policy director of the Future of Music Coalition, and co-owner of the ultra-hip Austin-based indie record label Misra, speaking about the need to end "structural payola" in commercial radio. Long story short, this institutionalized payola system has long ensured that independent and local artists (who are so low on the radar that commercial radio station owners don't even bother trying to manipulate them in back-door dealings) face insurmountable obstacles trying to get their music on the corporate airwaves. Supposedly, station owners are working to honor a commitment to change their ways, but change, as always, appears to be slow in coming.

On the digital front, Bracy spoke about the importance of the internet for independent and local musicians and the steps needed to create what he called a "legitimized commercial digital marketplace." These include opening up broadband access and ensuring net neutrality, whereby internet and broadband providers wouldn't be able to make exclusive arrangements with companies that would direct consumers to certain marketplace sites and block access to others. In other words, the goal is to prevent a few multibillion-dollar corporations from controlling the digital music sphere the same way they control the radio waves.

Heady stuff. A lot to take in. More tomorrow, including a keynote discussion with Sen. Al Franken and Mike Mills of R.E.M.

WFMU Fest in Williamsburg this weekend

Just when music festival season seems to be winding down, here comes the inaugural WFMU Music Fest! Three nights of live music at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Friday's lineup in particular promises to be something great.

So, OK, I'm a little sad that the station won't be broadcasting live. But don't be surprised if highlights don't start popping up on the airwaves soon. For those like me who are a little far away to attend, here's a consolation prize of sorts: The Akron/Family set from All Tomorrow's Parties is now available for download. So, once again, thank you, WFMU, for all you do.

TV Ghost - "Atomic Rain" live:


Here's the lineup, from WFMU's Beware of the Blog:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st (doors 8PM, $20 advance or door)
Faust
Cold Cave
Aluk Todolo

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2nd (doors 8PM, $12 advance/$15 door)
Pissed Jeans
TV Ghost
VeeDee
Guinea Worms

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3rd (doors 8PM, $20 advance or door)
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks
Sightings
Drunkdriver
Talk Normal

Bike naked for the Flaming Lips

I came across this on BikePortland.org recently. It's yet another reason why I need to get my lazy ingrate ass in gear and hightail it back out West:

Naked bikers needed for Flaming Lips music video to be shot in Portland next week

If you're fortunate enough to be in the area, head on out to Mt. Tabor tomorrow and get naked for art! What are you waiting for, hippie?

The new Flaming Lips album drops next month...

Yo La Tengo live at the 930 Club

Yo La Tengo is one of my favorite bands, and while it doesn't look like I'll wind up stranded on a desert island anytime soon, I'm thinking I should keep a few of their CDs on me at all times just in case. Wouldn't want to be unprepared in the event of an emergency. YLT put on a truly incredible show last week, kicking off the proceedings with the darkly psychedelic Here to Fall off their newest album (and second full-length release of the year) Popular Songs. They also threw in a few aptly-chosen semi-obscure covers as per usual, revealing their encyclopedic knowledge of rock music and giving the show a D.C. theme: Black Flag, Half Japanese, and former All-American Reagan-era live-from-the-Capitol Fourth of July faves the Beach Boys. My knowledge of Black Flag and the Beach Boys is rather limited, I have to admit, but I discovered Half Japanese during my sophomore year in college, when a girl I was semi-pursuing made me a cassette copy of Shimmy Disc's 20th Anniversary of the Summer of Love compilation, complete with handmade tape cover. We never did get together, but I found out about an entire music scene thanks to that tape. So, it kind of worked out.

The audience was...well, not quite what I expected. What I expected was the same type of crowd that enthusiastically turns out for the band's Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's every year. In other words, a large enthusiastic crowd full of punk rock intellectuals, sub-hipsters, and Jewish music nerds, liberally sprinkled with overweight middle aged guys seemingly cloned from the DNA of The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy.

What I found was a large crowd that seemed to be composed primarily of the young and well-heeled. At one point, I was surrounded by couples being "romantic" with one another (i.e., making out like crazy) and for a while, it seemed like everyone was under the collective delusion that they were at a Chris Isaac concert. Towards the end, two young ladies hopped onstage, much to the band's reluctance, and did an extremely cringe-worthy dance. This occurred during a slow, ponderous, achingly melancholy number. Immediately after the song ended, the band's Hebrew-tatted roadie (whose look I was finding more and more worthy of emulating as the night wore on) politely ushered them offstage. But I shouldn't be too hard on the audience. After all, they succeeded in bringing the band out for two long encores. And the band really shined, feeding off of the crowd's energy. You can--and should--download the entire concert on NPR's All Songs Considered.

Yo La Tengo - Here to Fall

Rediscovering Kerouac with Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard

Photo Credit: Autumn De Wilde

I missed the Son Volt show this past Tuesday (and, incidentally, I'm missing Matt and Kim tonight...further indication of how my week is going) so I'm fairly certain that I missed the opportunity to hear Jay Farrar play what is now my favorite Jay Farrar song. "San Francisco" is from the forthcoming soundtrack, to be released next month, of the documentary One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur. Farrar teamed up with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie to write and perform the songs. There's a great article about the making of over on Paste Magazine's website.

Excerpting and adapting Kerouac's text and setting it to music is a much more difficult task than it seems, being as it's one long stream-of-conscious narrative, but if the two songs they've posted on the site are any indication, wow--who'd have thought they could pull it off so well? Kerouac's vibrant and haunting prose really comes through. This may very well turn out to be Farrar's most vital work since Uncle Tupelo. I'm almost obsessively curious to hear how the adaptation of Kerouac's poem "Sea: Sounds of the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur" that closes the book turned out.

Tracklist:

1. California Zephyr
2. Low Life Kingdom
3. City And Sur (Willamine)
4. All In One
5. Breath Our Iodine
6. These Roads Don’t Move
7. Big Sur
8. One Fast Move Or I’m Gone
9. Final Horrors
10. Sea Engines
11. The Void
12. San Francisco

Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard Tour Dates:

10/23: El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
10/24: Bimbo’s 365 Club – San Francisco, CA
10/26: Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
10/28: Webster Hall – New York, NY

Deadline extended - The Billboard & PDN Ultimate Music Moment Photography Contest

For those of you still thinking about entering, the deadline has been extended until September 18, 2009. You can enter the competition here. And while you're at it, check out last year's gallery of winners.

Chairlift live at the Black Cat

Caroline Polachek of the Brooklyn-based electro-pop band Chairlift performing at the Black Cat backstage, September 7, 2009. Chairlift has been touring relentlessly, and they'll actually be back in D.C. to play the 930 Club on September 27. I decided to take the opportunity to see them perform in a smaller, more intimate setting this past Labor Day. They put on an incredible, high-energy show. But the highlight of the night for me was opening act John Maus. His performance was like outsider art, in the best possible sense of the term. He's a philosophy instructor at the University of Hawaii-Manoa when he's not doing this:

Maus also took the stage with Chairlift, playing backup keyboards (less awkward than it sounds), rounding out the band and giving them an even fuller sound.

A couple of songs, via his record label, Upset the Rhythm:
John Maus - Just Wait Til Next year
John Maus - Don't Be A Body