http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ So far. Amazing.Spring/Summer in Copenhagen will be a plesant journey. This city offers a fantastic array of impressions; the world's best restaurant, great brunches, graf history... Most importantly, I'd say, is the high quality and quantity of in-between passages; the street pleasantries of people, architecture and expression. Baudelaire (via Alain de Botton) would be well pleased with what Copenhagen has accomplished for the flaneur.**The Bright Lights of Copenhagen are displayed here. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Still travelling by bus/metro to get to work, other times we walk. The obvious and only sane option is to buy a bicycle which will be taken care off wihtin the nextcoming days. It's also what hits you first on arrival; bicycle/biking culture having such a strong presence in Copenhagen, and apparently in Denmark as a whole. Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic are two great websites dedicated to Copenhagen bicycle culture. There should also be linkage to fixie sites/forum and Flickr pools here. Music? Still 'stuck' housin' things. + You Ain't Dancin' - Chez DamierYear: 1996'Harsh and hot with chopped taunting vocals on top. Strictly business.'+ Burning 4 Love - Larry HeardYear: 1994Discog Great ambient vibes. Golden. Forever.'+ Chicago - Henrik Schwartz Year: 2003 Discog. 'Good hard 10-minute drive, makes me want to listen to Moodymann, not Roy Ayers.'(edit: I've more or less developed a crack addict to this track. Works every time. Also, apparently Henrik Schwarz has compiled a nice selection as part of the DJ Kicks-series. Checking up on that next.) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'After close to four weeks in what has turned out to be a very fascinating city, Copenhagen has presented at least three clearly distinct features; architecture - bikes - graffiti.' http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Writing on vans; the vehicle more likely to be seen with a separate perspective - as an extension of a juricidal person, and not privately owned. ' Copenhagen, and especially Nørrebro streets are dotted with painted vans. All below spotted within 20 minutes. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 1. I don't know what mess is going on above. It clearly indicates that I need to set up a new kit. Possibly going for one of these, a decent mobile camera. A back-up digital camera could be necessary later on this year, but for now, living in an urban area I find an advantage using a mobile phone with a high enough resolution when snapping lo-key pictures. One, not two notebooks should work, the rest is gone. Minimal maximal.2. We're moving abroad. Me and J have put signatures on new job contracts taking us to Copenhagen. New impressions should always be well-appreciated. Luckily, 'moving abroad' might be the main theme this year.3. I've decided to post more music onhere. Twice/week should be ok. I won't necessarily go for the rare. Smooth, hard and golden is the motto. Will probably mutter a word or two on the nerdy satisfaction I get from these pieces as well. Bear with me.+ In no particular order, some recent musical pleasures on the radar - old and new: + I'm Always Dancin' To The Music - Benny Golson'There's a nice stab to this track. The orchestral groove and background strings... Wouldn't mind finding an instrumental. Either way, it's good funk disco.'Year: 1978Discogs+ You're In My System (Kerri Chandler rmx) - The System'This one's been in my system (no pun) off and on for the last two months. Sort of had it playing in the back of my mind when walking around town and about. Very pleasant, great house. The original from 1983.' is great stuff too.Year: 1998Discogs+ Hands In The Dark - Chromatics'Latest discovery, just last night. I'm not going to apologize for being late on this, the track being from 2007 and all... Seriously, it's a wicked banger. Nocturnal megacity music.'Year: 2007Discogs+ Bad Boy (Never Released Version) - Jamie Principal'Pure sleaze. I'm putting out a warning on this one. Such a weird early house arrangement; best experienced at a 4.20am summer rave in the middle of rural Macedonia, or at a completely drug frenzied 'n' freaked out red light back alley bar. Your pick.'  Year: 1987Discogs+ On And On (Mach Rmx) - Jesse Saunders'Version a bit different from the original pressing, but still - this is the first house track ever recorded (1984.) Epic history. Beep-beep.'Year: 1984Discogs http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Really don't have the time nor necessary interest to indulge myself in this kind of literature at the moment, but it was a cheap find so I've been skimming through this book over the last past weeks. It won't give you any epiphany moments, but it's an informative history read. 'Easily Led - A History of Propaganda' is simply a run-through of 5000 years of propaganda techniques. However, in all honesty, its academic core will propably bore the hell out of most people (myself included). I would say that if you're into communication mechanisms, organized manipulation of public opinion and the sort, Edward Bernays 'Propaganda' is much more accessible and practical.  It's a frightful read really, but way too important to ignore no matter if you're a person working within the pr/advertising industry or just as an individual who wants to know a thing or two about the tragic beauty of  'herd instinct' and crowd psychology. Highly recommended. (On a side note; Sigmund Freud was Edward Bernays uncle, that alone would tell you a thing or two about the importance of the book).  http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ I won't waste too many words on this, since words should not be the storyteller regarding this little set-up I've decided to create.  I've also said this before but visuals and images is a really powerful tool to create sentiments and for a long time regarding the internet it has somewhat been neglected and not used well enough. On a personal level; I'm gaining a tremendous amount of further knowledge regarding the subjects and objects that catches my attention from checking up on different sites and whatnot. I'm also finding out that it's a great way for me to keep my visual perception in shape (context, composition, color...), and also to stay on point regarding contemporary & popular culture. So, if you're into good (dare, i say great?) images of fashion, arts, architecture, quotes, cityscapes, moments, movie captures, (my) peoples - Mark Gonzalez, Stefano Pilati, Toshiro Mifune, Marvin Hagler, lovely girls & all the other bright lights in the world - please come by and visit. An update will be made roughly every third week including a sweet instrumental and some additional linkage. ALL THE BRIGHT LIGHTS IN THE WORLD Stuck On Repeat Week 37:'Get This Thing Down' - Olympic Runners (1975)'Of All Time' - Dom Kennedy ft. BJ The Chicago Kid (2009)'The Enemy' - Big L (2000)'Cool (Barbare)' - Samiah Farah (1999)'Ayatollah' - Jackie Mittoo (early 80's)'Hopscotch' - Charles Rouse (1974)(It would also be foul play not to mention Jjjjound for initial inspiration. Nice one Justin - keep in touch.) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/     So I was having this theory for the longest on the 'visualization' of the internet; or rather that the internet would soon start to display stronger characteristics influenced by its older medium companion; the television. What I meant was, more storytelling with the aid of visual stimuli. My reason for believing so was simply; that by consuming information via such a visually dominated medium as the television, we, the modern consumer, have adapted to predominantly use one of our five receptive senses, the eyes, to capture and help evaluate our surroundings and its sentiments. (Another example of visualization is the now larger picture format used in daily newspapers.) During other historical eras other senses have played larger parts to process and pass on information; (oral tradition being the earliest 'technique' and aural experience thereby probably enjoying a more significant role.)  The internet, in that sense as to follow in the footsteps of the television and create emotion-based storytelling by visual stimuli, have so far been sort of a blank area. It's been closer to Gutenberg text based territory than anything else. To find good photographic and image material to oogle over and be amazed by has been quite a time consuming web activity. There has been Flickr, but Flickr is with all respect mainly for photographers, not other artists; graphic designers, and/or ordinary browsers looking for inspiration. However, as of recent, things have started to look a bit different. For the past year there has been an upheave of image and media bookmarking sites catering to ocular fiending. FFFFound, Vi.sualize.us, Dropular, Butdoesitfloat, Behance and Tumblr have certainly grown into great platforms to find thousands of strange, dope, absurd and pleasing momentous snapshots. To be more precise, individual sites like  Yimmy Yayo, THEM THANGS, Haw-lin and The Day After You Die are also fascinating both because of context and aesthetic quality. My opinion (content wise) is that Jjjjound is just on the same edge. Lifestyle, but raw. The selection of images over there show great knowledge of (branded) history overall and the pop cultural references are well played. Of course, I had to try myself to find out the mechanics and grind behind creating a 'photostream of sentiments'. For one, I would love to find the time to brainstorm more around the idea of storytelling x information feed x visualization, but I also found out that it's very time consuming and truly tedious work if you want to get composition and the feeling of everything right. It's not like you just toss in a couple of photos and yell 'done!'. Not really. However, those who do it right, like Jjjjound & THEM THANGS could with time and small authentic tweaks become great experience platforms. I would really like to see these more subculturally oriented ones morph into, if not commercially driven, but at least small gutter based brands. That would play out a neat story. **I will for the time being post most of my own visual findings here.Stuck on repeat:'Hot Thing' - Prince (1987)'So Free' - The Timewriter (2002)'Kyenkyen Bi Adi M'awu' - K Frimpong And His Cubano Fiestas (1976)'Know All The Bitches (Bullion rmx)' - Mr Beatnick featuring Ahu (2008)'Nobody's Smilin' - Termanology (2009)'On Your Way 93706' - Planet Asia (2006)'Cobra Clutch' - Ghostface Killah (1998) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ JUST A POOR TEST RUN... http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Dear Old People Who Run the World, My generation would like to break up with you. Everyday, I see a widening gap in how you and we understand the world — and what we want from it. I think we have irreconcilable differences. You wanted big, fat, lazy “business.” We want small, responsive, micro-scale commerce. You turned politics into a dirty word. We want authentic, deep democracy — everywhere. You wanted financial fundamentalism. We want an economics that makes sense for people — not just banks. You wanted shareholder value — built by tough-guy CEOs. We want real value, built by people with character, dignity, and courage. You wanted an invisible hand — it became a digital hand. Today's markets are those where the majority of trades are done literally robotically. We want a visible handshake: to trust and to be trusted. You wanted growth — faster. We want to slow down - so we can become better.The Generation M Manifesto http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ (Photos of Dash Snow aka Sace by Patrick O'Dell)Stuck On Repeat Week 28:'Next Level (Nyte Time Mix)' - Showbiz & AG (1995)'I Ain't Like The Rest Of 'Em' - Mickey Factz (2009)'Believe' - AFTA-1 (2008)'Love Honey' - Infra Red (1991)'Let Me Love You Down' - INOJ (1997)'Alice' - Pogo (2007)*The track 'Alice' was ripped from the absolutely brilliant video-make by Pogo on YouTube. More info on Pogo here. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Stuck On Repeat Week 27:'Rock With U (Yoruba remix)' - Erro'Momma's Groove (Jimpsters HipReplacement Mix) - Osunlade'Killa Lipstick' - Ghostface'Alphabets' - Gza http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Click above Find Me Link Link Link Link --> Twitter --> http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ I've probably heard this song somewhere before, but this time it just stuck like glue. I can't even remember where I picked it up from. It don't matter, it's simply fantastic! The whole sequence starting at 1:30 to 2:15 is just epic. 'This Must Be The Place', Talking Heads. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Shining Star' - Manhattans (1980)'I Know You Don't Love Me' - Roachford (1994)'I Wonder Why' - Bohannon (1978) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ A sort of new phenomenon regarding advertising; concert posters and general announcements plastered on sidewalks and other various ground levels. A really nice touch I must say, especially in a town like Stockholm where people tend to spend 8 months out of the year scurrying the city streets in gloomy weather obsessively staring at their feet.  Even Stockholm's public transport system have picked up on the trend. Here's advertising for a new metro card being introduced in the coming months. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ I've been intrigued by shortcuts like the one above for some time, and I finally found a few words to explain my curiosity. The thing is that paved roads and sidewalks have been designed from an authoritarian perspective telling people where they should walk whereas shortcuts are created where people actually do walk, organically and free forming. When people stop using these paths vegetation grows back and nature takes over once again. You could probably turn this small observation into a quasi-philosophical outburst regarding urban planning, societies as a whole, fixed rules, organic vs mechanical flows.., but I won't. It's Sunday morning and I haven't even had coffee yet. Anyhow, funny enough after doing some netsearch it turns out that these shortcuts actually have an official name; 'desire paths/lines' or 'social lines'. There's even a whole Flickr group on the subject. True nerds can also watch this videoclip. An obvious desire path that by the use of material have turned into a paved shortcut. (Observe how the grass by the signpole have grown through the holes of the layered bricks). Wikipedia tells a great story on how landscape planners in Finland are known to visit parks immediately after the first snowfall, when the existing paths are not visible. Footprints in the snow indicate where people naturally choose to walk, which can then be used to guide the routing of new paths. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser' 6.9mbDocumentary: 'Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (1988)'. The life of Thelonious Monk.Produced by Clint Eastwood. http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Fela Kuti Collection (2.3gb)The Fela Kuti Collection:(1969) Fela Fela Fela(1970) Fela's London Scene(1971) Live!(1971) Na Poi(1971) Open And Close(1971) Why Black Man Dey Suffer(1972) Roforofo Fight(1972) Shakara(1973) Afrodisiac(1973) Gentleman(1974) Alagbon Close(1974) He Miss Road(1975) Confusion(1975) Everything Scatter(1975) Expensive Shit(1975) Kalakuta Show(1975) Noise For Vendor Mouth(1976) Again, Excuse O(1976) Before I Jump Like Monkey Give Me Banana(1976) Ikoyi Blindness(1976) No Bread(1976) Upside Down(1976) Yellow Fever(1976) Zombie (Nigeria)(1977) Fear Not For Man(1977) J.J.D. - Johnny Just Drop(1977) No Agreement(1977) Observation No Crime(1977) Opposite People(1977) Shuffering And Shmiling(1977) Sorrow, Tears And Blood(1977) Stalemate(1977) Zombie (USA)(1978) Zombie (France)(1979) I.T.T. - International Thief Thief(1979) Unknown Soldier(1979) V.I.P. - Vagabonds In Power(1980) Authority Stealing(1980) Music Of Many Colors(1981) Black President(1981) Coffin For Head Of State(1981) Original Sufferhead(1984) Live in Amsterdam - Music Is The Weapon(1985) Army Arrangement(1986) Mr. Follow Follow(1986) Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense(1989) Beasts Of No Nation(1989) O.D.O.O. - Overtake Don Overtake Overtake(1990) Confusion Break Bone(1992) Underground System(2000) Black President - The Best Of((A few LP's missing but this is by FAR the best Fela collection you are going to be able to find!!)) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ ALL CITY 2009 http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Moonlit Heart'  - Superpowers ( US 2007)'Adeniji' - The Budos Band (US 2007)'Show Me The Man Who Don't Need a Woman' - Bongos Ikwue (Nigeria 70's) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Spring Interlude:'Do You Believe' - Webster Lewis (Live Oslo 1971) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Kitty Bey' Byron Morris and Unity (1974)'Tell Her' - Fred Williams & The Jewels Band (early 70's)'Make It Fast, Make It Slow' - Rob (Ghana late 70's)'We Can Take The Time' - De Frank (Ghana)'Kyenkyen Bi Adi M'awu' - K. Frimpong And His Cubano Fiestas (Ghana) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ 'Why the Office Oddball Is Good for Business'Jeff Staple (Staple)  x John Jay (Wieden + Kennedy) Q&A Feed feenin'... http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ April Affection:'As Rosas Eram Todas Amarelas' - Jorge Ben (1972)'The Day We Met For Coffee' (Afefe Iku Remix)' - Osunlade (2006)'Mirror Dance' - Afefe Iku (2008)'Rushing To Paradise' - House To House (2009) http://www.majorcity.info/modermedia/ Spending a few days in Copenhagen. Exploring the city, trying to find bearings. Bike's everywhere is the first thing noticed. Customized, fixies, racers, Kronans, Skeppshult... Fixie-king.dkCopenhagenize.com (Cph bikeculture/blog)Copenhagen Cycle Chic (women bikingculture/blog)Impressions:'Poor Man's Transportion' - Junior Reid'Me And My Woman' - Shuggie Otis'A Day In Decmber' - Manoo & Francois A