One of those posts which don't really need a title (couldn't think of one)

Seriously, we have to reinstate some stereotypes in the world. Like eskimos. Do eskimos really exist, do they build igloos, fish from holes in the ice and make friends with seals? Or mexicans. Most mexicans i've met are a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, they were mostly fascinating, intelligent and friendly people, with interests varying from poetry to anthropology to music to easel painting. They were a disappointment because none of them was large, sported a moustache, wore an extremely wide sombrero and carried a guitar around to accompany their rancheras and boleros. Damn it, that's what mexicans are supposed to do. It's what we're taught at an early age. (They do eat bugs though)
When you're tiny, you will be shown picture books which occasionally display what is commonly known as foreigners. These are described as having standard appearances and behaviours. Living in a place with very strong ethnic diversity, a day does not go past without me witnessing somebody else's perfect idea of the world destroyed by reality, for example when europeans or south and north americans meet an african for the first time and discover most africans do not live in villages. They live in Cities. Cities. In Africa. You see something die within the poor westerner's soul as he realizes the world is not as interesting as he thought. Later he will even find out that africans are not cannibals. That in reality, they do not cook white people in a large pot, while one of them slices a carrot and adds it to the boiling water for flavor. Such a pity.
(Of course africans don't eat white people, that would be daft. Ever tried tasting a white person? Pretty disgusting. It would be an insult to african cuisine, which to my experience is quite delicious and has very rarely included bits of people inside.)

I have decided to actively search for and encourage stereotypes. They take us back to a simpler, happier world where all italians dress up as gondoliers and sing serenatas and where all canadians are mounties and lumberjacks.
More people in their countries should dress up in traditional garb and adopt stereotypical behaviour. It would definitely make the world a more interesting place.
Now russians, they're already in a good position. I've known a fair amount of russians, and most of them when prompted would actually do the cossack dance of old, legs swinging in the air and hands clapping to music, imaginary or otherwise. Also, all the russians i've met are alcoholics. This supports my argument even further.

The Plan.

You wake up and it's August and it's 7 AM, an hour after you went to sleep.
You get up, close all the windows and then turn the air conditioning on, setting it to maximum. You shave and shower. After the shower put your best clothes on: shirt, tie, long trousers, the whole works.
You then go to your room and get back into bed, and sleep until the remaining hours of daylight are over.

Murphy's law: the evaristo deviation.

Things inevitably going wrong while organizing cultural events (clashing roadie egos, backup bands messing up the headliner's personal toilet, constant inspections from three different kinds of police one of which partially fictitious, official permissions only being given fifteen minutes before the gates open, show merchandising only reaching the venue some days after the show, co-stars climbing around drunk and completely naked in full view of the audience, stage exploding due to monsoons accidentally visiting the wrong continent) are, thanks to the butterfly effect, the only thing that's keeping our planet from being hit and destroyed by a passing meteorite.
The instant a show actually goes smoothly without a single flaw or screwup and even actually - god forbid - makes a profit, well, Boom and goodbye world, hello bigfatmeteoritewithallournamesonit.

I call this the evaristo permutation of Murphy's law as applied to event promotion and global holocaust.

And yes, all examples mentioned above are real.

Fun with UbuWeb

Some links from the quintessential online archive, in case there's still someone i haven't forwarded these to personally. I usually visit ubu.com for the avantgarde audio and video archives, but occasionally come across unexpected gems like the following, which deserve greater diffusion.

Kenny G meets John Zorn (No, really)

The Gaylords sing american hits in italian (from the 2007 365 days project)

A visit to the Postojna Caves (Sadly, it makes no mention of the fantastic hot-dog stand outside - a favourite childhood memory of mine. However, may i suggest an expedition to accompany this soundtrack? Pino, ci sei?)

Telemundo - Dificultades tecnicas (probably the funkiest beat i've heard today)

The Most Wanted Song and The Most Unwanted Song (Featuring Vernon Reid on guitar, ladies and gentlemen!)

And then, suddenly

Crowd inside Teatro Miela before Trabant concert/launch party




The webmaster comes on stage for the encore playing surprise guest air guitar impossible parts. Special thanks to Elena for sending me the pictures and for being the only person this decade who's managed to make me look good in a photo. And to Trabant of course for the graceful surprise invitation.


And this one is from Fallenlady.com.
There's also a video of the event online somewhere but there's no way i'm linking to that.


Crowd outside Teatro Miela after Trabant concert/launch party

And hardly a week after holding a sold-out concert before 450 people and publishing their debut LP, what does Trabant go on to do? They go and win Italia Wave of course. And i can't help mentioning how adorably surprised they are about all this attention, wondering why people want to have them come and play concerts outside their region and giving good reviews a suspicious look because you never know, it might just be an elaborate joke from their friends.

2'48" in Guča

Sorry, had uploaded this two weeks ago but forgot to link it here. Original text so you don't have to go over to its respective youtube page (and so i can finish this and go off to a party in time):

Recorded on thursday, August 9th 2007 at 22:48, at the trumpeter monument of Guča. Clearly visible are Sandro, Johannes, Dave, a glimpse of Derf, and Chuketti's hat.

...is off again.

Once again, i'm leaving. Once again, to a festival. Once again, to a festival like no other.
And it also seems that in each of these festivals i have and will show a different face. In Rototom Sunsplash it was the face of the translator and bon viveur. At ItaliaWave it was that of the webeditor and music enthusiast (and, surprisingly, of the good team worker). In Guča, it will be that of the anthropologist and drunkard.
If you've clicked the link, you should already have seen that the previous sentence is thoroughly justified. However, it is my pleasure to leave you with this 1951 recording made by Alan Lomax during his travels through Serbia:
Library of Traditional and Primitive Music - Frula Duet(Serbia) (128kps mp3, 1.5Mb)
I dare you to figure out the tempo, especially in the final section. Anyone who succeeds wins a prize.

So, anyway. I'll be away for a week or more. This time i can't promise updates, because who knows when and where i'll be finding an internet connection. What i have done is to put a twitter update on the sidebar. I'll try to update that (from my cellphone) just to reassure people that i'm still alive.