Aside from a snazzy band name, Man/ Miracle have a flare for flashing nervy dual guitar power pop hooks, vocal flourishes that are near phosphorescent, hyper drums and snazzy bass lines entertaining enough to capture the ears of the most staunch indie rock enthusiasts. The Shape of Things is a short, high spirited debut from the energetic Oakland quartet.

Although short, The Shape of Things backs some pretty thoughtful ambition. “Hot Sprawl” is packed with enough hooks to intimidate a school of pretentious fish. Dylan Travis sounds something like Ezra Koening of Vampire Weekend doing karaoke to David Byrne topped with a tinge of Anthony Hegarty in a really, really good mood. “Multitudes” captures a flash of hyper Brit-Rock. It’s dual guitar jitter is reminiscent of International Noise Conspiracy’s noisy, confident attitude.

The Shape of Things succeeds with its brevity. From the brilliant, one and a half minute “Always, Just” through the end of the record, Man/ Miracle jumps from influence to influence very quickly (i.e. Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” to Kids in the Hall theme song “Having an Average Weekend” by Shadowy Men). It’s easy to point out where Vampire Weekend, Talking Heads or Broken Social Scene have left broad brush strokes on their style but that kind of finger pointing diminishes the levity of the album. Man/ Miracle aren’t anything that hasn’t been heard before nor are they perfect. They probably don’t care all that much about being labeled a tad bit derivative, as the influences are many but easy to point out. Overall, The Shape of Things is indeed half man and half miracle. Don’t fight it.

by: Bene Garcia

Feeling a little better about Fall fashion after perusing the London collections. Usually I expect a little more wackiness out of London, but they actually seem quite a bit more subdued, especially compared New York. Definitely two standout collections for me pictured below, Erdem and Louise Goldin.

Erdem

Louise Goldin

Continue reading for more of my favorite looks from London fashion week.

Antonio Beradi, Antonio Beradi, Aquascutum

Burberry Prorsum, Christopher Kane, Christopher Kane

Jaeger London, Jaeger London, Marios Schwab

Nicole Farhi, Nicole Farhi, Osman

Pringle of Scotland, Pringle of Scotland, Vivienne Westwood Red Label

by: Tricia Rock

Both of these performances by no-wave pioneers DNA were taken from Downtown 81, a feature film starring the legendary American artist Jean Michel Basquiat. The film was conceived by Edo Bertoglio and Glenn O’Brien as a rare real-life look into the ultra-hip subculture of early 1980′s Manhattan, but was not properly released until 2000 due to financial constraints. Although the plot is minimal, appearances by Debby Harry, Lee Quinones and Fab Five Freddy along with performances by other post-punk musical stalwarts like James White and the Blacks make it a must see. Plus, getting to watch Basquiat make his art is a beautiful thing.

For further listening we highly suggest DNA on DNA, a 2004 compilation of all their singles and live performances by No More Records.

Side Notes:
The dialogue audio for the film was lost, so actor Saul Williams dubbed the late Basquiat’s voice. However, the musical soundtrack, mostly live club performances recorded on location using a RCA 24 track mobile unit, survived.

The rock group Blonde Redhead takes its name from the DNA song of the same name.

posted by: Brent Carter

This story was originally published on February 24 and two days later, Cryptome was back online, apparently because Microsoft did not have a legal leg to stand on. Ultimately Microsoft’s attempt to conceal how they spy on their customers through a bogus copyright infringement lawsuit was a failure. Read the back and forth between John Young of Cryptome, Microsoft’s Anti-Piracy Investigator and Cryptome’s hosting provider Network Solutions here.

According to Ryan Singel of Wired:

“Microsoft has managed to do what a roomful of secretive, three-letter government agencies have wanted to do for years: get the whistleblowing, government-document sharing site Cryptome shut down.

“Microsoft dropped a DMCA notice alleging copyright infringement on Cryptome’s proprietor John Young on Tuesday after he posted a Microsoft surveillance compliance document that the company gives to law enforcement agents seeking information on Microsoft users. Young filed a counterclaim on Wednesday — arguing he had a fair use to publishing the document, a full day before the Thursday deadline set by his hosting provider, Network Solutions.

“Regardless, Cryptome was shut down by Network Solutions and its domain name locked on Wednesday — shuttering a site that thumbed its nose at the government since 1996 — posting thousands of documents that the feds would prefer never saw the light of day.

“Microsoft did not return a call for comment by press time.

“The 22-page document (.pdf) contains no trade secrets, but will tell Microsoft users things they didn’t know. (You can read it directly on your own computer from the above link, or read it inline below.)

“For instance, Xbox Live records every IP address you ever use to login and stores them for perpetuity. While that’s going to be creepy for some, there’s an upside if your house gets robbed, according to the document: ‘If your investigation involves a stolen Xbox console, if the console serial number or Xbox LIVE user gamertag is provided and the console has been connected to the Internet, IP connection records may be available.’

“The Microsoft® Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook (.pdf) also goes so far as to provide sample language for subpoenas and diagrams on how to understand server logs.

“Other things you might not know and which Microsoft (sometimes oddly) doesn’t want you to know?

“Microsoft retains only the last 10 login records for Windows Live ID. As for your instant messages, it tells police that it keeps no record of what anyone says over Microsoft Messenger – though it will turn over who is on your buddy list.”

Read the rest of the article here

posted by: Harold Johns III

IOC President Count Jacques Rogge of Belgium, the man who writes the checks and counts the money

According to Gus Lubin and Lawrence Delevingne of Business Insider:

“Hundreds of thousands of people have descended on Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Three billion are projected to follow on TV and 75 million more on vancouver2010.com.

“And people around the world are learning to love obscure sports like curling and biathlon for a couple of weeks.

“But before you get too caught up in the sports, remember that the Olympics have little to do with sports.  They’re mostly about money.

“In the United States, NBC demonstrates this every day — ruining the Olympics for millions of sports fans by tape-delaying events so it can show a highlight reel during prime time.  (To their credit, other countries don’t do this: Our readers remind us every day how great the coverage is in Canada).

“But NBC is just a small part of the global industry known as Olympics, Inc.

“In the last four years (2005-2008), the International Olympic Committee (the owners and controllers of ‘Olympics, Inc.’) generated nearly $6 billion of revenue. For the next cycle, revenues are on track to be significantly higher, with Vancouver already doubling Turin for domestic sponsorship.

“It’s enough to make you look twice at the IOC, which is based conveniently in tax-haven Switzerland.

“Although the IOC is a non-profit organization, employment (‘membership’) in the organization is a cushy job with many benefits.

“Where does all that money come from and go? Is anyone making a profit? And who put the IOC in charge anyway?”

Read the answers in the full article here

Protesters hold up a sign near Olympic torch celebrations in Old Montreal December 10, 2009 (Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)

posted by: Harold Johns III

photo by: Duarte Sa/Reuters

People look on as a street with vehicles is engulfed by heavy flooding in downtown Funchal, Madeira February 20, 2010. Over forty confirmed deaths have been reported so far on the tiny Portuguese island.

See the entire Reuters photo slide show here

posted by: Brent Carter