Is there a name for this phobia?

I wish i wasn't so terribly afraid of going to an ATM machine and checking how much money i actually have left.

Series III: Pictures of people taking pictures of people.

Rome, Via dei Fori Imperiali, 28 May 2006, 12AM approx.















Later that night:

(Rome, Centrale Del Tennis, 12PM Approx.)

A small eternity with Joe Travers.

We had a chance to meet Mr. Joe Travers, vaultmeister and drummer extraordinaire - also known as The Man With The Coolest Job In The World - outside Rome's Centrale Del Tennis, after another successful Zappa Plays Zappa gig, and ask him a quick question.

Me: Hi Joe, loved the concert! Just a quick question: So, what's next in the Saga?
Him: Ah, nothing at the moment, but when i go back from tour i've got about three different working ideas right now on some certain things so, well, we'll see what happens. Probably a concert release and then we're getting ready for two things. We're working on two CDs and then we're also working on the fortieth anniversary release boxset for...(looks me in the eye) something i can't tell you about!
Me: I can just do the math, c'mon. Forty years...
Him: Exactly.
Me: ...OH!
Him: Well there you are! So, gotta go.
Me: Thanks for the talk!
Him: Seeya!


Courtesy of evaristo, boy reporter.

Napo meets Gnàpo

The new Marx Brothers: Evaristo, Napoleone Murpo Brocco, Gnapppo.

Welcome back to me.

Ok, this blog will soon see new content. Some of it even today. We've got an interview or two, reviews, news, and maybe even a couple of photoseries if i feel like posting them.
But first, i shower. Cheers.

MUSIC IS THE BEST

The webmaster is leaving for Rome in a few hours.
What follows is a bunch of stuff culled from a day's frantic preparation.

Wierd Al Yankovic - Genius In France

"While I've never been a big fan of long solos, I've always admired Frank Zappa's compositional acumen, which I studied religiously while writing my Zappa homage, 'Genius In France.' To create my 'style parodues', I dissect my favourite artists' work and try to step into their shoes and, i hope, create a composition not unlike something they might have done themselves. I felt extra pressure doing that with Zappa; he's one of my all-time heroes and, frankly, I didn't want to screw it up. One reason 'Genius' is nine minutes long is that Frank's style consists of so many components, I felt it would do him a disservice to try to emulate it in three or four minutes. And he'll always have a wam place in my heart for categorically proving to the unwashed masses once and for all that humor really does belong in music." -Wierd Al Yankovic, Relix Magazine, April/May '06

The Webmaster, Saturday 20th May. With mystery accomplice.


Comin'up:
Friday, 26 May dinner with Faveromane. 1st Fr/Gluteo summit.
Saturday, 27 May Vega/Chuk cumulative B-Day celebration. Why in Rome? Why not? Mind your own business.
Sunday, 28 May Zappa Plays Zappa at teatro tenda striscle and/or centrale del tennis.
Monday, 29 May aperitaviti. Strong chances of Nacci.
Tuesday, 30 May Roma-Udine-Duino-And Maybe Medeazza.

This weekend will also see the conclusion of an 18-month project still currently under wraps. Codename TAME. This was a secret message, ingest after reading.


The party that wasn't there. 19.05.06

(The mp3 linked to above doesn't really work. The webmaster doesn't really care. Find it on P2P.)

Me: Why do you always doubt my words?
Her: I've only known you for three hours!

Zappa.com Tourlog
Dweezil inca roads solo 49mb quicktime video (this one works)

I hope to catch at least one of these exhibitions (gnapppo preparati)

(it's creative freedom, but it feels good after all)

Sometimes knowing you have four hours of sleep ahead feels like such a luxury.
(just got back from giving a present to a tree. But i didn't have the time to return certain library books)

Her: The cat's still here? I'll put it out.
Me: But he's my alarm clock!

I'm starting to suspect that my map of rome may have been in london for the past year and a half. (Which must be why i can't find it)

Love is not music.

Me: Why are you laughing?
Her: Because i thought you were crying.

Beauty is not love.

Last night, outside the bar:
Her: So, robin, what are your plans for the summer?
Me: Ah, the same as every summer. To meet a beautiful girl, to desperately fall in love with her, to break my heart when she ultimately rejects me. Same as every summer.
(Actually, this is truer than you think)

P.S. it's towel day!
P.P.S. it's international konishi day! Banji kaichou desu! Don't ask me what that means, i still have to understand why i know.

Truth is not beauty.

So, i was busy dressing my mother up as a hippy,
Wait, i'll say that again.
So, i was busy dressing my mother up as a hippy,
when the following exchange occurred:

me: You know, this would be faster if you just let me lend you my usual clothes.
her: Nah, i'd prefer to look good.
me: ...(thought goes through the mind: "what the hell did that mean?)

(A sequel to Wisdom Is Not Truth: last night i got the best job offer ever. "Hi, i have a job for you but i can't tell you what it is yet". I proceeded to go around duino pretending to be a secret agent. Oops, i said the D word. Oops, i don't care anymore.)

Wisdom is not truth.

At the Library, almost 10AM:

Her: Robin! Run! There's an article on Duchamp in today's paper!
(Yes, this really has gone too far)

Later, at home:

Our hero awakes. He realizes having slept most of the afternoon. He curses. Loudly. He vows to get some work done in what little's left of the day.
He then walks down to the bar.

Even later, at the bar:

Him: Who are they pretending to be now? With the ties?
Her: i think it's the foo fighters
Me: i thought it was ac/dc. Good video though.
Her: The video's better than the song.
Me: Yeah, somebody should tell the Red Hot Chili Peppers that there are another fortynine american states to sing about.

(for reference)

Knowledge is not wisdom.

The location: My Father's home office, 9:30 AM

Me: Dad, you know yesterday when you fixed my door? I just realized you forgot the cutter on my pillow...
Him: Yeah?
Me: I slept all night with an open cutter next to my head!
Him: Well, did it help?

Information is not knowledge.

Her: "Oh, i made some chicken soup, do you want some?"
Me: "Depends. What's inside?"
Her: "Chicken."
Me: "Cool! Okay."

Weekend Download - Special Edition

Once again, it's a weekend in which we here at WGD Central want you, the reader, to partake of our listening pleasures. Despite the weekend itself to only be about an hour away from ending. Anyway.
The tune we'll be sharing this time around is, quite surprisingly and for the second time in two weeks, a previously unreleased work by a contemporary composer. Case in point: it's by Fred.

derf - blue contrasts for piano solo mp3 - 128 kps 5Mb mp3.
This composition, best listened to at high volume and with lights out and eyes closed, is conceived as a unique performance, and was written last thursday.


El Artista en su derfo

Nobody else is doing it so i guess i might as well should.

Three upcoming events i may or may not attend, but which have not yet recieved enough online attention (as if this blog was of any help):

UdineJazz - June 15 to July 20
(i'll try not to miss bob fripp and his crew. Uri Caine also looks good. I'll go for James Brown if it's not to expensive because, c'mon, he's James friggin' Brown for christ's sake.)

Vocalia Brasil - Maniago(PN) 10 to 20 May
(Rosa Passos coming so close to home is quite a surprise. Don't want to miss that. And Rosalia De Souza maybe, if nothing else emerges on that particular night)

ICE-Z 2 - Rome, 9-10 June
(Most probably won't make it since i'll already have been in rome for ZpZ two weekends earlier. Pity, the conferences look mighty swell. And Zappa-themed parties are something i've always wished for. To think i could have been a speaker at this, if i'd wanted to.)

Plus one i most absolutely won't be attending:
Keith Jarrett Live - Teatro La Fenice, Venezia - 19 July
Check out those prices!
Main seats, 120-190 euros
Low visibility 60 euros
No visibility/listeners only: 40 euros.When news of this came out, all sorts of hilarity ensued. Actually, it was just a matter of time.
Come to think of it, i should show up just to make fun of the audience.

I should make a post about the weekend. Here's that post.

Jon Jacobs' street, seen from left.


Jon Jacobs' street, seen from center.


Jon Jacobs' street, seen from right.


Jon Jacobs, seen from very close.

info: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Interview (by Cicalona & myself) tba.

Joyeux Joel

I was fiddling with a couple of soundfiles this morning when i came across something unexpected. What i needed was 2 minutes of white sound, interference or just noise in general. Since i was feeling rather on the lazy uncreative side, i just told myself "Huh. That useless Joe's X-Masage Zappa album had two one-minute musique concréte pieces. Nobody'll notice if i take one of them and extend it to two minutes." Yes, i was feeling very lazy. The endproduct wasn't really for me, anyway.
So i took a 56 second track ("mousie's first x-mas") and arbitrarily extended it to 2 minutes. While i did this, i noticed something wierd: the left and right channel were two completely different tracks altogether. Once doubled in length, what was going on became clear: the composition had a completely electronic/manipulated magnetic tape left track, while the right track was part of a hitherto unheard orchestral composition. All this at double speed.*

The other short musique concréte track ("The Moon Will Never Be The Same"), which proved to be much the same in style, especially when extended from 1:10 to 2:20. Approximately.
An example can sort of be seen in the screenshot below:


Goldwave dealing with Zappa. Two channels, different lengths.


All i could do now was save the soundfiles, put them on the internet and look for something else to sample, splice, dice and maim for my own filthy plans.
So, for all you scholars out there...

Frank Zappa - Mousie's First X-mas(extended 2x) - 128kps 2min Stereo Mp3
Frank Zappa - The Moon Will Never Be The Same(extended 2x) - 128kps 2min20sec Stereo Mp3

And furthermore:

Mousie's First X-mas (extended left channel only) - 128k mono that sounds like stereo mp3
Mousie's First X-mas (extended right channel only) - 128k stereo that sounds like mono mp3
The moon will never be the same (extended left channel only) - 128k stereo that sounds like mono mp3
The moon will never be the same (extended right channel only) - 128k mono that sounds like stereo mp3

All recordings approx. 1962-63.

Edit: Tracks now hosted on a more powerful and trustworthy server. Grazie Pelodia signorFurpo!

*my reaction upon discovering the accelerated tracks: "Cool, i do that all the time."

Project for Homage to Maurizio Cattelan

(Lucky Bastard)
An ultrarealistic, life-sized sculpture of a meteorite, lying crippled on the floor after having been hit by a gigantic pope.

Something to be proud of.

Derf Magic Trick - Performed in Medeazza, March 2006


Somebody had to do it, so i stepped in: Now YouTube finally has a reason to be.
(ooh, and i even got my first comment! Glee!)

Friul East Film.

Can't sleep, so i guess i'll post some what-i've-done-tonight business. Which i realize is what people expect to see from a blog, but it's not like i've ever cared about what people etc.

Went to the Far East Film Festival opening night with Chuk tonight. Here's a picture i took of mr. Takashi Miike, who popped by before a HD projection of his banned tv special, Imprint. Nice, polite, friendly little man.


Um, a guy, Takashi Miike, another guy, and a guy-ette. Oh wait, the first guy is a guy-ette too.

Then the movie began, which was rather disquieting. The lady next to us covered her eyes or her mouth in alternation throughout the projection. The lady in front of us had to be escorted out halfway through. Chuk fell asleep.

It helps to say that since we got there a bit late for the first movie, Rules Of Dating ("don't take a girlfriend", the people in the soulseek ShibuyaMusic room had wisely suggested), we had decided to drown our disappointment in, oh, look, they're serving free wine in the back. Hardly anything gets done in Udine without free wine being served in the back. Believe me, i work there from time to time.

Sometime around here the beautifully anticlimatic first encounter with DoE occurred:
Me: "Carissima, come va?" (he then disappears)

(Yes, there's a link in there somewhere which i still haven't very well understood what to do about, if at all. Clarifications welcome.)

Word reached us that wine had run out when we had already nicked two or three bottles, carried them outside, and thus attracted a small but friendly group of likeminded people (Sometime around here DoE & co. caught up with us, coincidentally).

So this was the atmosphere when the time had finally come to walk into the nice big theatre hall. Inbetween there had been much mocking of much drunker bystanders in i've-never-seen-you-but-you're-my-best-friend mode, emocore eejits scribbling into their moleskines in self-built corners, and much singing in spanish or slovene. Very appropriate for an asian film festival, i assure you. Oh, and we had a toast.

Said toast was the first thing that asked to leave the room once the movie had begun. Luckily, it held on tight and i'm proud of how well it withstood adversities.
When all was done (and slashed and tortured), it was a worthwile experience after all. One of the most shocking and gruesome films i've seen, but the conclusion justified that, somehow. But i'm sure i won't want to see it again. Nor do i really recommend the experience.
Then the movie ended, the audience clapped and chuk woke up. I can't really say that we then all got up and left the room, it would be more appropriate to say that then we all got up and very carefully backed away from mr. Takashi.

Chuk, however, was undisturbed:

Upon realizing the impossibility of picking it up and carrying it away, the only rational thing to do was to have a picture taken whilst riding it.

We then left town and safely made our way back to Duino despite promises of further drink availability, while we still could. A wise move. And here i am, alive and sober.

Once i got home i found three chocolate pralines on my bed, carefully wrapped in a kitchen paper which i don't recognize as our own. Who knows, i may be a lucky man after all.

Lindsay, Scherer, Sakamoto - It Only Has To Happen Once

From Ambitious Lovers' 1988 Greed album, one of my favourite songs. Also one of my favourite albums, as a matter of fact.



Live at the Apollo Theater, New York City, 1990
(Ambitious Lovers: Arto Lindsay - Vocals, guitar; Peter Scherer - Piano, Synclavier. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Guest Keyboardist)