I finally got around to listening to my copy of the beautiful and haunting compilation Dark Was The Night.  Maybe I was waiting for just the right day to really appreciate it.  Buy your copy today, and all the revenue goes to AIDS charities.

James Jean’s portfolio site: www.jamesjean.com

James Jean’s blog: www.processrecess.com

Alice in Wonderland image pool on Flickr

Alice in Wonderland, Illustrations by Marjorie Torrey

My favorite new thing today is A Place to Bury Strangers.  They kind of sound like a harder and faster Jesus and Mary Chain, but that’s alright with me.

http://www.myspace.com/aplacetoburystrangers

Dance Mother, 2009

Brooklyn’s Telepathe is my favorite new band.  Bryan gave me the album this morning and I have been listening to it nonstop all day in the studio and in transit while I was running errands.  They are the perfect combination of synth and indie.  Some of the songs are very Shoegazer-esque, reminding me of the really good Lush songs.  They seem really young, so I hope they keep making more and more gorgeous music.

www.myspace.com/telepathe

www.telepathemusic.com

Download a Telepathe Mix Tape and Lauren Flax’s Telepathe remix here

I had a chance to view Coraline in true 3D at the most lovely movie theater in New York The Ziegfeld. Coraline is far better and darker than most children’s films.  The visuals were completely inspiring and I can’t wait to see it again and again.

from the original book by Neil Gaiman

Coraline and her kitty venture down the rabbit hole.

The mouse circus performance was my favorite part.

source

www.guerand.com

Bettie Page, Queen of Pinups, Dies at 85

Our beautiful pinup queen has passed away.  Photographer Unknown.

I just returned back from a weekend of deep listening in Boston. It was amazing to see my old Boston friends and meet some of my favorite musicians. I am thankful to Jon Whitney for putting this festival of strange and wonderful music.

The Brainwaves festival started on Friday sharply at 8pm with JG Thirlwell’s Manorexia project, a symphonic mix of strings and electronic sounds that sway from beautiful to haunting. Manorexia was the highlight of the Friday performances for me. JG Thirwell is a good friend of mine and I love the direction his music is going in these days. Each day Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound fame, played some songs in between acts. I was not sure why he did not perform in the festival but it was great to see him hanging around all weekend. I made it my mission to get to know him. I have been listening to the strange surreal music of Nurse with Wound for over 20 years. His is a kind and modest man. I learned that Stapleton is a shepherd living in the countryside of Ireland where he works on his music and art. When I asked him how many records he put out he said he had no idea. He may not know his own discography since 1979 but knows exactly how many sheep, chickens, and goats he has living on his farm.

The highlight for me was meeting Steven Stapleton/Nurse with Wound. Photo by Bryan

On Saturday I was most excited to see The Threshold HouseBoys Choir the new project of Peter Christopherson from Coil. His performance did not disappoint. I was super excited to meet him and shake his hand. Part of me wanted to go on and on about all how much I love his music, but I spared him what he already knows.

Threshold HouseBoys Choir

Little Annie AKA Annie Anxiety’s quirky cabaret performance of standards, was a nice break from all the experimental music. Little Annie has collaborated with Nurse with Wound, Marc Almond, Coil, and dozens of other people. She was like a gothic Edith Piaf on stage. Brainwaves ended on Sunday with a luscious dreamy performance by The Stars of the Lid. I saw them perform at a church in NYC a few months ago. Their Boston show was totally different but just as good.

Stars of the Lid

Lovely Video Projections at Brainwaves

Meat Beat Manifesto played a great set at Brainwaves but the whole time I was wondering of I was a decade too late on seeing them. Their sound might not have aged well but there were plenty of gorgeous video eye candy to keep me entertained.

Meat Beat Manifesto

A painting Dame Darcy made of us knitting each other’s hair,