HyperQuake

YouTube music video darlings OK Go have done it again, but this time they’ve traded the treadmills for a warehouse in which they have built a wonderful, wonderful Rube Goldberg Machine. Don’t miss this one.

BONUS: The answer to the question, ‘will the band make out with the machine’? Find out below!

Artists giving away their music via free downloads on the internet isn’t anything new: Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have both jumped head first into experimenting with this. On February 14th, 2010, Blink 182 singer/guitarist Tom DeLong’s side project Angels and Airwaves (AVA) released their new album, available for free download. Appropriately enough, it’s entitled ‘LOVE’.

The band funded the whole thing themselves, spending about $500,000, sources say. If you are willing to do that, you are committed to your music no matter how good or bad people may think it is.

The whole concept of the ‘free’ download and releasing the album digitally only is more of a goodwill gesture towards the fans, with the hope of unlocking new revenue streams by enticing fans to pay for new content. In AVA’s case, this comes in the form of fan club membership ($20.85 every 3 months). By joining you get an assortment of early access passes to soundchecks, exclusive video and blog content, etc.

As a guy who still buys CDs and vinyl, I’m amazed to see how the music world is changing. Some bands and labels get it and are diversifying their ‘brands’ to cater to how music fans consume their product now, as well as trying to identify what that product will be in the future. If giving away your stuff for free is any indication, the product certainly may not be music. The reality is, even though listeners can donate after they download albums like this, I think most artists realize this isn’t really going to happen, or if it does, that it won’t amount to much.

Regardless of whether you like music or the bands who are giving stuff away, this is still an interesting situation, and since no one’s quite figured out the ideal model for selling modern music yet, you can bet that fun stuff is ahead.

So I’ve been a resident of Cincinnati for 11 years or so now.

I’ve been a punk rocker or sorts (minus the mohawk and facial piercings) ever since I got a cd player and starting rocking out about Nofx, Green Day, Face to Face, The Descendents….. The list goes on.

Put these 2 aspects above together and over the past 11 years I’ve been a regular attendee at punk shows here in Cincy, no matter where they are. From the original Void (literally a closet behind a rock-and-roll laundromat in Clifton) to RadioDown, to Bogarts, to The Mad Hatter, to Ripley’s, I’ve been to shows all over the city and during that time, I’ve often seen Pat Rice.

I remember thinking when I first saw her, “why is this old lady at this show?” As you’ll see in the video, she is 65 now, so at 54, I was seeing her at shows surrounded by 15-23 year old kids. I was perplexed, but also thought it was awesome because as my wife, family and friends know, that will probably be me at that age too.

The more shows I went to, the more I would see Pat. Again, I’d always think this was odd, weird, crazy, cool, awesome.

This video is about her connection with the local music community, the way she has become connected with it, the mark she’s left on various bands/kids at shows and just overall, the love that the music scene here in the city has for her and vice-versa. She’s become quite a figure, being recognized by CityBeat and asked to give out a Cincinnati Entertainment Award award among other things.

It’s great to see this video though and be able to see the story behind this person I always wondered about. Truly a unique story and a testament to some of the great people and great things people do for others here in the city.

Watch the video here.

More and more, I’m beginning to think that I’m missing out by not having TV. I mean, like, I’m getting a ton of stuff accomplished, but I’m also missing out on sweetness like the Fuel TV Signature IDs, being created by all manner of artists and studios whom I like quite a lot. Watch them all here, or I’ve picked a few favs, posted below.

“FUEL TV’s award-winning Signature Series IDs are inspired by signature skateboard decks created for skateboarders by influential or iconic artists. These Signature Series IDs serve many purposes: to introduce the audience to new and upcoming artists and/or athletes, or to serve as a way for current athletes and artists to express themselves in art and music.”

Newly released #23 by Toledo-based UPSO:

#22 by Brooklyn-based HunterGatherer:

#12 by everyone’s favorite space monkey, Dalek:

I count myself very lucky to have grown up in a school district that had strong arts offerings: early exposure to art and especially music had a profound effect on my development as a creative thinker. Neurologist Oliver Sacks says that music is essential to the development of the brain, and Milton Glaser argues that without the ability to draw, we lose the ability to understand and interpret life. Plus, there are plenty of publications advocating and confirming such claims.

It is very sad that a lot of American children won’t have the early exposure to the arts that I did. The fact that arts programs tend to fall victim to cost-cutting measures is news to no one, but it really makes no sense. Try to name one profession that wouldn’t benefit from creative thought, I certainly can’t think of one. Arts education is all benefit, though it is also hard work. But it will pay off, I guarantee it.

“1 town. 800 inhabitants. 12 music artists. See how sound made the everyday extraordinary.”

“New Sony Soundville campaign by Cadbury Gorilla creator Juan Cabral. In March 2009 a small town in Iceland was filled with speakers and music from the likes of Death In Vegas, Bob Dylan and the Guillemots. The Seydisfjordur village was turned into an extraordinary sound-system for a week. The objective of the brand is inviting people to believe in experience superior sound and promote the latest audio technologies from Sony, offering an experience never before experienced.”

“We believe that the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do. We call it The fun theory.” www.rolighetsteorin.se

Quayola is a visual artist based in London. His work simultaneously focuses on multiple forms exploring the space between video, audio, photography, installation, live performance and print. I could go on…but you gotta check this guy out.

Strata #1 from Quayola on Vimeo.

You’ll need it when you look at this.

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