What is Art?

Vhils

I rarely ever remember any of my dreams. The images fade away as quickly as they are formed but still, the ideas remain. Although I don't remember the content of my dreams, most often I remember some kind of feeling or ideal that it invoked. Last night was one of these nights. I vaguely remember random people in my life, including professors and friends, telling me what was true and what wasn't about random things, most of which I don't remember. But, as I woke up, the idea of what art was ingrained into my memory.

Who defines art? What is it? and how can somebody label it as good or bad? These questions seem unanswerable to me. Creation is art. But, is destruction art? So many questions, so few answers. But, as I think about it more, I'm not so sure that I want any. Art is freedom, the ability to create and express oneself and ideals. The idea of confining art within parameters of definition seems like an inhibitor to real creation and expression. Maybe somehow, I like not knowing exactly what art is.

joeblack
picasso
DuchampDamien Hirst
EPOS 257

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A Few Mixtapes

Kid Cudi and Cookin' Soul put together this MJ mix the day after Michael's passing. Overall, it's pretty good. Not the best thing I ever heard but still quite fun. Highlights include, "Don't stop 'Til You Get Enough" feat. Jay-Z, and "I Want You Back feat. Lil Wayne". Click here for more info and free download.


Awhile back Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher criticized Glastonbury's decision to have Jay-Z headline the festival. Read about it here. Hov had some fun with it and decided to hit back by playing Oasis songs at the festival. Check it out on youtube. Anyway, as result of this, Cookin' Soul put together "Jayzis" a mixtape of the two performers. Highlights include "Supernova Hello" and "Dec4th Masterplan". Click here to download.


A Weezer/Jay-Z mixtape? I don't really need to say much about this one. It's some crazy stuff. Highlights include "Only In A Moment of Clarity" and "Say It Ain't December 4th". Click here to download.


Quite different from the other mixtapes on this post, this collection of Nas' latest is just a solid collection of some of his recent work. Click here to download.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" passed away today. The greatest pop star we've ever seen was brilliant, and despite whatever happened to him later in life, his music legacy is undeniable. He even influenced me to dress up with penny loafers, white socks and a vacuum as a microphone and sing "Billie Jean" for family talent shows.

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The Road trailer

I'm very excited about this movie. The Road is an amazing novel and I hope it can be translated successfully onto the big-screen.

For those who don't have access to Youtube or want to see the trailer in HD click here.

Scottish Invasion

Two of Scotland's great bands, The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit, are coming to share their musical talents with Salt Lake this September. If all you think of when you think of Scottish music are bagpipes, then do yourself a favor and listen to these two groups. Below are two videos from the musicians.

The Twilight Sad: "And She Would Darken The Memory" from Mark Charlton on Vimeo.

Heads Roll Off @ Yahoo! Video

Herakut

One part street artist, the other part, well, just plain artist. Herakut definitely has a style of their own. A little bit of fantasy mixed with a touch of darkness. They also don't seem to care about the anonymity of being a street artist. Judge for yourself.

Vanderslice

John Vanderslice was in town this week and played Velour on Wednesday. He always puts on a good show and this wasn't any different. He even played "Plymouth Rock" for the first time live. I know the show was a few days ago but I thought I would still share some videos of his to celebrate the occasion. Enjoy!

"Exodus Damage"

Exodus Damage @ Yahoo! Video

"White Dove" - Take Away Show

John Vanderslice - White Dove - A Take Away Show from one shot seattle on Vimeo.

"The Parade" - Take Away Show

John Vanderslice - The Parade - A Take Away Show from one shot seattle on Vimeo.

Jeff Wall

Read this and this.

FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League Winners

Today Barça won its second European Cup in the last four years. An overwhelming underdog considering their effort in the semis against Chelsea, the Spanish side proved that they were champions of Europe. After a quick start by Manchester United that included several chances at goal, Barça took over and imposed their style of play. Controlling the ball with sharp and accurate passing, the club opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a goal by Samuel Eto'o. This seemed to shock the defending champions leaving Messi and co. to impose their will.


The club didn't only win the Champions League but also the Liga and the Spanish Cup. They call it the treble and Barcelona is only the fourth team to ever achieve the feat and the first Spanish side ever to do so. A great achievement.

I am happy that Barcelona won. Not because I am a huge fan but because of Messi. This game may have proved that he can now be considered the best player in the world. He outplayed Cristiano Ronaldo, controlled tempo, and scored in style. Congratulations Messi and Barça on your success.

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Grizzly Bear's latest album Veckatimest has received quite a bit of hype. Months before its release date it was receiving rave reviews and album of the year honors without even being available to the general public. I hate hype. The Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion hype totally ruined that record for me. I couldn't get into it and ended up being disappointed in the outcome. With Grizzly Bear I tried my best to ignore the hype. I kept away from the articles and features bowing down to its greatness and only listened to one of the songs previous to the release. So, when I bought the record this weekend it was a pure, undiluted experience. I believe I enjoyed it better this way. So, in the end I do recommend this record. It's ghostly, hypnotic, and alluring. I don't think they will ever surpass Yellow House, their last record, but this is close.

This video is the first official one from the record. The song is "Two Weeks". Enjoy.


Two Weeks

Invasion

Many know Space Invaders as a classic arcade game, not as the subject of street art. The artist known as Invader takes images from the game and others influenced by it and "invades" the world with mosaics of these classic images. An original, one-of-a-kind artist. Here are some of my favorite images. If you want to see more, check out his website at www.space-invaders.com (very fun and interactive) and this site as well has several more images, http://space.invaders.paris.free.fr/ .

200th Post

So, before I made this post I thought it would be something more epic, more

elaborate to celebrate the occasion. Instead of doing that, I decided to just

put up a few videos that I'm enjoying at the moment.

Red Bull BC One - Created in 2004, this competition brings together the

best b-boys from around the world to battle one-on-one. Breakdancing

is the ultimate space of self-expression. Enjoy the videos from the 2005,
2006 and 2008 finals.

2005 Final

2006 Final

2008 Final

Kid Cudi - Day N Night

This song has been stuck in my head for the past few weeks.

Kid Cudi - Day And Night Official Music Video @ Yahoo! Video

White Rabbits "Percussion Gun"

White Rabbits "Percussion Gun" Music Video from White Rabbits on Vimeo.

If you haven't heard of the White Rabbits, do yourself a favor and check them out. Their debut album Fort Nightly is a definite must-hear. Their new album It's Frightening looks promising. I haven't heard anything other than the song above "Percussion Gun" but am looking forward to doing so. Check out the video and then the album which comes out next week. Enjoy.

The Urban Lounge
Thursday June 25 9PM

El Peor Equipo de la Historia

Who is the worst team in history? Who has the worst club leadership and management? According to River Plate fans, yes, it is the gallinas. CARP, River, or whatever you want to call them. I usually don't like to revel in the failure of others except when it comes to Club Atletico River Plate. Where else will you find fans that make signs accusing their club of being the worst in history? The fact that River fans turn on their team and players when the times get tough shows that they are not the biggest club in Argentina and never will be.

Just because

So, It's been about a month since my last post. I'm out of school (well, kind of), back from Peru, and don't really have anything going on at the moment. So, here is my feeble attempt at translating what I'm doing at the moment into blog form.

I'm reading:

mixed with this:
During the semester I took a seminar with Carol Klee from the University of Minnesota on Latin-American contact languages. Yes, the semester is over, but I still have one more paper to write. Although still a work in progress, I'm writing on the linguistic influence of African language as portrayed through history, literature, and of course, linguistics on Rio de la Plata. In actuality it's supposed to be a linguistic-focused project but I've been given permission to mix linguistics, history and literature into the paper. A kind of smorgasbord of many things relating to the forgotten afro-rioplatense influence within all of these contexts. This book is giving me a better understanding of what possible influence African roots have in Latin-American language.

and this:
Despite what you think of Galeano and his political views, his writing is entertaining. I recommend also, Soccer in Sun and Shadow.

I'm listening to these:
Recently discovered these mix-tapes on the blog www.pigeonsandplanes.com.

Wiz Khalifa
Kid Cudi
Frank Ramz

And watching:
I'm a closet UFC fan and this is their reality show. This season it's the United States vs. the United Kingdom. Each side is coached by current fighters Dan Henderson (USA) and Michael Bisping (UK, and former winner of the show). So far, the UK is on top but it is still early.

Well, that's about it for now. Hopefully, my life will get a little more exciting in the coming weeks. For now I'll try to make the blog more active and interesting. I still haven't posted on Peru but am planning on doing so soon. I put a bunch of pictures on facebook and Beckie has quite a bit as well on her blog bexcaliber.blogspot.com .