Songs to Whistle, Punk

Night Out In Style

2010-09-09T20:22:00.002+02:00

The fine folks over at the Textile Arts Center (505 Carroll Street in Gowanus) as part of Fashion's Night Out have invited me this Friday the 10th to do a little spinning. I won't be on a loom, but an overloaded laptop full of tunes. The needle drops at 8:30pm, while folks stroll around the 'slow fashion' to discover new styles and ideas in sustainability. But check out the website, there's lots of events earlier in the evening to delight the eyes and mind. And hang out 'til I arrive to delight the ears and feet!

Re-Spung

2010-05-02T05:09:00.004+02:00

Well it's been quite awhile since I posted anything on the ol' BLoG. I've been mixing intermittently, but starting to build up speed in my new digs in Brooklyn.

Thus a little craft fair I'm mixing at this weekend. I've done the last two Xmas craft fairs there and this is their first spring fair. Don't miss out.

More info here.

Something New

2008-09-09T18:07:00.002+02:00

So the fine folks over at Les pères populaires have opened a new concert bar in Paris called l'International. I got to play the opening night on Friday and, well, it was a rousing success. I'll be mixing there again on Wednesday with a concert by some friends who are regulars at Le bistrot des artists. Saturday I'll be doing a set at Les pères populaires, which will probably be my last thing in Paris for several months, see do come down. Otherwise, I'll see you Stateside or back in Sweden.

10/09/08 20h - 2h
l'International
5/7 rue Moret 75011
Métro: Ménilmontant

13/09/08 21h30 - 1h30
les Pères populaires
46 rue Buzenval 75020
Métro: Buzenval

Dueling Banjos

2008-03-11T19:11:00.004+01:00

After a few months of rather successful nights at Les pères populaires and at the request of various unnamed individuals, I've decided to attempt a somewhat thematic night there. So far the "theme" (or perhaps genre) has been "populaire." Some idea of a people's music, a little outside a strict (or perhaps crass) commercial environment, but always in an upbeat dancey way. I've been able to mix chanson, the Balkins, psychedelia, old rock n roll, salsa, 60s soul, Svenska pop and dozens of other styles all in the name of "populaire".

So for the next two soirées I'm going to focus (though not exculsively!) on a specific instrument. To wit, the first of the Instrument populaire series: Dueling Banjos.

Samedi 15 mar 21h05 à 1h30
aux pères populaires
46 rue Buzenval
75020 Paris; métro: Buzenval
ambiance: du populaire (avec des banjos)

Flight Plan

2008-03-11T19:08:00.002+01:00

Well, this is actually being entered after the fact, mostly for historical purposes. It was a really nice soirée.

Parimutuel on Fun

2008-01-15T23:19:00.000+01:00

In French a trifecta would be a tierce -- don't ask me the gender of the word, I can never find a decent French dictionary online. For a language with fewer users, it's much easier to find Swedish translations online.

But enough of my griping over my unhappiness with Paris. Better things are on the horizon and I'm hitting up my three favorite bars in town and laying down the fun.

After the quiet of the Paris holiday season fades, DJ Whistle Punk returns with a vengence: not one, not two, but three gigs in three different bars in one week. Triple your chances to get down with the funky sounds in a winning trifecta.

Mercredi 16 jan 21h à 1h
au Bistrot des artistes
6 rue des Anglais
75005 Paris; métro: Cluny/La Sorbonne
ambiance: du funk et de la soul
Spoken Word downstairs

Samedi 19 jan 21h30 à 1h30
aux pères populaires
46 rue Buzenval
75020 Paris; métro: Buzenval
ambiance: du populaire

Dimanche 20 jan Minuit à 2h
au Pop-In
105 rue Amelot
75011 Paris; métro: Filles du Calvaire
ambiance: 60s/70s pour shaker ton booty

all the kids love...

2007-12-13T16:09:00.000+01:00

After several months of silence on the BLoG front (though luckily not silence in les salles) M. Whistle Punk returns. This weekend he takes on two of his favorite venues Les pères populaires and Le bistrot des artistes. (Although the former's info me is as out of date as my BLoG. Currently I'm alternating every other Wednesday and Sunday night. This week, obviously I'll be there on Sunday. Then 3 days later on Wednesday. Certainly just to mess with your mind.)

dj whistlepunk
aux pères populaires
46 rue buzenval
75020 paris; metro: buzenval
samedi 15 dec 21h30 à 2h

a soirée of old rock n roll, soul
country, chanson, calypso, reggae,
psychedelia from Cambodia and other
things to make you fall in love again

dj whistlepunk
au Bistrot des artistes
6 rue des anglais
75005 paris; metro: cluny/la sorbonne
dimanche 16 dec 21h à 1h

le funk et la soul à volonté
+ la soirée jam session en bas

Thanks to Diana Arens for the photo.

Beginning of a Long Weekend

2007-02-26T22:35:00.000+01:00

The weekend will start on Wednesday for me. I've got four gigs. Wednesday at the Bistrot (can you find the tiny photo of me on their site?), as every Wednesday. But never quite the same in the ever evolving exploration of funk and soul.

Thursday, it's uptown to the Mange Disque to launch a new series in my continued set of series there: Funky Islands. Getting off the large land masses to see the intimate worlds (will they all disappear with global warming?) and the magical music made there. First stop: Jamaica. Folks have been asking me to do a reggae night for awhile now and this will include as much as I can cover (and there's a lot; Prince Buster produced over 600 singles in an 8 year period during the 60s). We'll start as early as the mento period and space out on some 80s dub.

Friday's a private gig. If you know about, well then you know about it.

Saturday's a semi-private thing for one M. Honnorat. If you don't know about it, ask me, and I'll invite you.

Bisous,

DJ Whistle Punk

Wednesday Feb 28th 21h to 2h
Le bistrot des artistes
6 rue des Anglais
Metro: Cluny/La sorbonne or Maubert-Mutualité

Thursday March 1st 21h30 to 2h
Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi
Metro: Goncourt
free entry, wine and cheese and deli plates (à la Francais, bien sûr!) available at good prices

Born at the Wrong Time II: Jump et la naissance du rock n roll

2006-11-28T14:21:00.000+01:00

After last week's delightful Another Country soirée, DJ Whistle Punk makes a quick return to Mange Disque with a completely different theme, but one guaranteed to keep the kids jumping.

When Elvis Aron Presley walked into Sun Studios in 1953 to record a single for his mother's birthday, blues was already 15 years gestating into rock n roll. Jump blues, with its up-tempo, driving rhythms and shouted, syncopated (often bawdy) vocals, was rock n roll before there was rock n roll. (And oddly, one of the few blues forms that regulates the guitar to the rhythm section.) Its purveyors gave swing a kick, rode the politics of racial segragation and helped birth the dominate musical form of the US for the past 50 years (until folks starting scratching records and rapping over them).

In his second installment of Born at the Wrong Time, DJ Whistle Punk lets you live the magic moment of that day in Memphis and moreso, the heady musical stew that led up to it. Come taste rock n roll history. Your mother will be proud of you.

Co-sponsored by Take On Paris.

Friday Dec 1th 21h30 to 2h
Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi
Metro: Goncourt
free entry, wine and cheese and deli plates (à la Francais, bien sûr!) available at good prices

Another Country

2006-11-14T21:52:00.000+01:00

Pre-Halloween Funk

2006-10-27T20:19:00.000+02:00

Before It All Went to Shit III: L'appel cochon

2006-10-21T14:03:00.000+02:00

In his third installment of "Before It All Went to Shit," DJ WhistlePunk takes a hexagonical look at underground Punk and New Wave, this time putting the music en francaise in the spotlight.

Around the time of Chirac's "Call of Cochin" in 1978, the French took a nod from their island neighbor up north (and a former colony of said neighbor) and exploded their own punk and new wave scenes. Fast, humorous, and, like punk itself, faded all too quickly, the French scene is a rich hidden gem -- often unknown even to the French themselves -- that is just beginning to be rediscovered.

So take a trip with us back with us to when Elli Medeiros was punk, New Rose Records kept the 6è hopping and a Belgian Bertrand borrowed Motello's backing band to keep everything plane-ing pour nous.

Co-sponsored by Take On Paris.

Thursday Oct 26th 21h to 2h
Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi
Metro: Goncourt

Double rentrée

2006-09-13T20:35:00.000+02:00

Well after a much less miserable summer than the last, summer is finally over and life can begin anew. To wit, a double rentrée at my two favorite little joints in Paris.

The first is at Mange Disque that oh so pleasant bar à vins in the 11è. I'll be mixing an upbeat rentrée mix with such fine things as The Gossip and Billy the Vision & the Dancers. It all goes down on Thursday, so you come down too, y'all.

Sunday will be the sneak preview of Funky Fridays to come in October. I'll be restarting the weekly funk soul review again at Le bistrot des artistes. Come out in force and show Juan that the funk is what the kids are looking for!

Thursday Sep 14th 20h30 to 2h
Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi
Metro: Goncourt

Sunday Sep 17th 22h to 2h
Le bistrot des artistes
6 rue des Anglais
Metro: Cluny/La sorbonne or Maubert-Mutualité

Born at the Wrong Time

2006-07-08T00:24:00.000+02:00

Ever get the feeling life would have been a little better, gone a little easier, or just would have been downright more interesting if you were born at a different time? A few years or a few decades and you could have burned your bra in front of the country courthouse, drank absinthe with Van Gogh, or just lived at a time when folks had better fashion sense (whatever it is you consider to be fashionable).

DJ Whistle Punk can't change the date of your birth, but he can, for an evening, take you at bit out of the present age. To that end he presents: "Born at the Wrong Time: a night of music recorded before 1956". Relive those bygone eras, that perhaps you missed by an accident of birth, from early Edison recordings up to the day before the birth of rock n roll. So break-out your flapper dresses and cigarette holders and come enjoy the final (before vacation) mix at Mange Disque.

Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi; Paris 11è
Thursday, July 13th, 21h to 2h

And a few tunes to put you in the mood.

Party of the Century / Funk of 40,000 Years

2006-05-09T00:16:00.000+02:00

In France, they had to change the title of Bennett Miller's Capote to Truman Capote. This is because the French word capote (sounds like kaput with a long O for the U) is slang for a condom. They couldn't have a movie about an important American writer called "Condom," now could they? Unless of course they paired it with a biography of that Balzac fellow.

But anyway, the fine folks over at Take On Paris invited me to spin their first big party. The theme? Truman Capote's (in)famous masked ball from 1966. Costumes are encouraged, or wear black and white. I'll be mixing dancing tunes from the 1940s all the way to 1966, so if you'd like to hear old jazz, jump blues, early rock n roll and soul, this is your chance!

And if post 1966 (up to say 1976) is your thing, I'll be at the Bistrot des artistes this Friday laying down enough funk to inspire you to write the next "Thriller." (Without having to fly all the way out to Holcomb, Kansas.)

Thursday, May 11, 21h to 1h
Café de Paris, 158 rue Oberkampf
Metro: Ménilmontant
PAF: 5 euros, 3 euros for students

Friday, May 12, 21h to 2h
Le bistrot des artistes, 6 rue des Anglais
Metro: Cluny
PAF: Free

2006-04-18T11:56:00.000+02:00

Well I stopped by Mange Disque the other night, stumbling in during a wine and food tasting (yummy) and to see if there were any dates open. Low and behold, Thursday was free, I had an image for a flyer, and quickly put together the idea.

To wit:

Girl Groups Int'l
a soirée of early soul, rock n roll and pop 1958 to 1968
just the ladies playing (well, maybe a male drummer or bassist or two)
at Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi; Paris 11è
Thursday, April 20, 21h to 2h

Mange Disque is a wine bar that sells records. They have tartines and soups and charcuterie / fromage plates so you won't have to starve either. Tell your friends.

Oh, and, of course, to give you a little taste, here's Dee Dee Warwick (sister of Dionne) with a very gritty version of "You're No Good" from 1963.

Une crise de foie

2006-04-05T20:41:00.000+02:00

So here we are to announce the next soirée at Mange Disque which will take place tomorrow. I always love nights there, because I can get away with anything I like. Like being on the radio, except with a live audience.

So for this time, I picked the theme I thought the French would know the least about. Country music. One of those words to send a cringe up even many an American's spine.

But why? Discarding the commercial crap pumped out of Nashville these days, what a fascinating tradition: yodeling, banjos (brought by African slaves to the States), hard drinking, bad romance and shooting people for no good reason. All of human existence rolling into one tiny little song.

To wit:

Une crise de foie et une coeur brisé (Bad Liver and a Broken Heart): A Night of Country and Western and Other Related Health Problems.

at Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi; Paris 11è
Thursday, April 6 21h à 2h

And a little something to get you in the mood:

Goebel Reeves (The Texas Drifter) - The Yodelin' Teacher

Winter appears to be over...

2006-03-31T00:23:00.000+02:00

time to update the BLoG.

Quite simply this is a little note to let you know I'll be mixing funk and soul both Friday and Saturday night at the Bistro des artistes. And it would be lovely to see you.

Coming up next week: A night of country music* at Mange Disque on Thursday. Don't miss it!

Tout simplement: DJ Whistle Punk va mixer le funk et le soul cette semaine, vendredi et samedi, au Bistro des artistes. Ca lui plaît si vous venez.

Prochainement: Une soirée de la musique de country au Mange Disque à jeudi. Ne ratez pas!

Friday/vendredi 31 March/mars
Saturday/samedi 1 April/avril
22h - 2h; entrée gratuite
Le bistro des artistes
rue Anglais Paris 75005
Metro: Cluny/La Sorbonne sortie rue St. Jacques
http://www.bistrot-des-artistes.com/

*Sandman - A Tribute to Rapper's Delight (very low-fi version from the website; check out the CD for a better version.)

Home Is Where the Art Is

2005-11-03T16:07:00.000+01:00

No self-propaganda today. Just a video to share.

Tender Forever: Happy Birthday

My First Flyer

2005-10-13T12:49:00.000+02:00

Just Before It All Went to Shit

2005-10-03T13:58:00.000+02:00

Back in the day, for an instant -- like all human miracles, fleeting -- the large Anglo cities roamed the earth. Happy kings of democracy and diversity, divining from the murky swamp new art forms: punk, new wave, no-wave, hip-hop, house, "world" forms. High concept art lay comfortably with the low-brow and epicurean. In the short span of time just before the neo-conservative revolution, before large Anglo cities were defined simply as money making ventures, pitted against their poor, their artists, those who simply wanted to have a good time. Before real estate market collapses, gentrification, too-high rents, government propaganda of xenophobia.
Did those creators realize the profound effect of their creations? Their influence on art and music for the past 30 years?
Or were they simply looking to throw a good party?
And yourself?

Autrefois, l'espace d'un instant -- le temps d'un miracle -- les grosses villes Anglos guiderent le monde de la musique. Les lumières de la démocratie éclairèrent de nouvelles formes d'art: punk, new wave, no-wave, hip-hop, house, "world." L'art conceptuel faisait bon ménage avec la musique populaire et l'hedomisme. Pendant ce court moment, juste avant la révolution néo-conservatrice, avant que les villes anglos ne deviennent des tiroirs-caisses, ne sacritient leurs pauvres, leurs artistes, tous ceux qui voulaient juste s'éclaier.
Les créateurs étaient-ils conscience des effets de leurs travaux? Leur influence sur l'art et la musique de ces 30 dernières années?
Ou voulaient-ils juste organiser une bonne soirée?
Et vous-même?

(A tiny city, South River, NJ, was the home to Xex. I'll probably play them on Saturday, even if they fall a bit outside the theme. Here's a preview:

Xex -- Saint Vitus' Dance (1980))

Missing the seventies? We'll you've got a full weekend to go back in time, as DJ Whistle Punk spins the gamut of the epic. Friday, as usual, he'll be at his favorite place in the 5th, Le bistro des artistes, spinning Funk and Soul. We always get a good crowd of friends, like the music, old and new. Saturday, we've our first Saturday night at Mange Disque. On tap (err, musically, it's a wine bar...) "Before It All Went to Shit: Large Anglo Cities 1972-80)". Relive the heady days before the neoconservatives spoiled all the fun. We'll excavate the rich music underground of punk, new wave, no-wave, hip-hop, house and "world," all in their nassaince. Hear the diversity, democracy in action, get-down party music, just before big Anglo cities became unaffordable to artists and working folk.

Les années 70 vous manque? Cet week-end, DJ Whistle Punk vas explorer le noir et le blanc, le connu et le inconnu, mais toujour bien pour faire danser, de la décennie. Comme d'hab, il vas mixer au Bistro des artistes, son lieu préféré dans le 5è. Ambience: Funk et soul. Après, en samedi, il explore la riche et variée production des grosses villes Anglo entre 1972 et 1980. Venez vivre la naissance du punk, de la new-wave, la no-wave, le hip-hop, la house, et la "world," toutes les musiques sur
lesquelles danser.

Friday/vendredi 7 October/Octobre
21h - 2h; entrée gratuite
Le bistro des artistes
rue Anglais Paris 75005
Metro: Cluny/La Sorbonne sortie rue St. Jacques
http://www.bistrot-des-artistes.com/

Saturday/samedi 8 October/Octobre
21h - 2h; entrée gratuite
Mange Disque
58 rue de la Fontaine au Roi
Paris 75011

Will comment spam create virtual Bloggers?

2005-09-20T13:59:00.000+02:00

Do two BOTs ever meet in a chat room and pick each other up?

Serious questions, these. But what could be more serious than my class reunion? And how the hell am I to get there? See, in Paris, in the summer, there is no work (I think I had an entry on this elsewhere). If you are French and you have no work, you've got the State: it's slow, bureaucratic, but it comes through in the end. (Like that letter in Amelie, that shows up 40 years later.) (Yeah, I know they faked it, that only makes the metaphor stronger.) If you're l'étranger, you're fucked.

And then if you break-up with the woman you're living with, on top of owing a month and a half of back rent, there's three months worth of rent you'll need for a new apartment and a single month to try and get yourself back on track and purchase an airline ticket for your class reunion. Oh la la.

In trying to find out if I'd be easy to find on the internet for my former classmates, I Googled myself and found that not only am I a playwright living in San Francisco, I seem to be a bit kinky. One can go over to classmates.com (I won't provide the link) and spend exhorbinant sums just to find your college buddies (you can, for example, post a picture for free, but no one can look at it until they buy a membership). (The lowest memembership price is $15, which for my tiny class of 99 folks, would gain the site a cool $1500, just so we could find out where our damned reunion is.) Craig's List should really take over class reunions. It is rather easy to like the European mindset, certainly things should be left to the State: say, education, planning against disasters (the latter reminds us that the Europeans believe such things should be funded, also), communication. Other things like, say, fashion are great in a competitive marketplace. Maybe one good litmus test could be: will people die if these things are not available? If so, better not leave it up to the whims of the marketplace. (And, again, make sure the thing is funded.)

Ok, I won't die if I can't get Dostie's e:mail address. But still, it all seems rather opportunist. I prefer the French, they hate money. I know this for a fact, there's no more sure fire way in Paris to kill a business deal than bringing money into the conversation.

This is all rather n'importe quoi, really. Here's a song by a girl named Emily. And here's the propaganda for this week:

A double header this week for the home team. DJ Whistle Punk takes on two of his favorite bars, with everything to take it and shake it down to the floor. First, Thursday, the rentrée to Mange Disque. We're going in, like we went out:
upbeat groovy funk and rock from here there and everywhere. Friday, as we are wont to do, another funk and soul blowout at the Bistro. Come one, come all, come to one or all. "Put your funky tamborines together and parteeee!"

Whistle deux fois! Cette semaine DJ Whistle Punk vas mixer aux deux bars préferés. A jeudi, la rentrée du Mange Disque: ambience funk, soul, rock et plus. Vendredi, comme d'hab, c'est le funk et soul <>. Viens! Pour l'un
ou le deux.

Thursday/jeudi 22 September/Septembre
21h - 2h; entrée gratuite
Mange Disque
58 rue de la Fontaine au Roi
Paris 75011

Friday/vendredi 23 September/Septembre
21h - 2h; entrée gratuite
Le bistro des artistes
rue Anglais Paris 75005
Metro: Cluny/La Sorbonne sortie rue St. Jacques
http://www.bistrot-des-artistes.com/

We got to keep meeting like this...

2005-09-07T14:16:00.000+02:00

Wassup?
Wassup!
Wassup!
Oh, we've got to do something different with our lives, man.
No, I'm gonna do what I did last Friday.
Wassat?
There's this little bar in the Fifth...
Oh, no, not that place where everyone spoke English.
No, no, no. I was on crack when we tried that place. This is a nice place, cheap cheap beer, good kids hanging out.
Any "ambiance?*"
Ah, ouais. Funk and soul. Great DJ by the name of Whistle Punk.
What the hell's a Whistle Punk?
Don't know, I was never a lumberjack, myself.
Huh?
Forgot it. Shall we hit it and quit it?
I got your back.

C vendredi. Que pasa?
Le Whistle Punk.
C quoi ça?
Il était un mot des bûcheron.
Quoi?
Non, c un truc. Quellequ'un qui fait des signals et tu bouges.
Et, alors?
Ouais, c un DJ qui mixe le funk et soul dans un bar dans le 5è.
Bah, le 5è... c cher, plein des tourists.
Non, pas cet bar. La pinte est 3 euros pendant le happy hours et les gens est sympa.
Tu es crackée! C n'existe pas!
Bah, si. Et moi, je seulment craque pour la musique.
Mais, ok. Vas-y.
Ouais!

Le bistro des artistes
rue Anglais Paris 75005
Metro: Cluny/La Sorbonne sortie rue St. Jacques

Friday/vendredi 9 September/Septembre
21h - 2h; entrée gratuite

* Darker Shades LTD - "Trackin' Down Jody Pt. 1"

Je deteste Paris au mois d'Août

2005-08-29T23:56:00.000+02:00

I admit consistency has never been a strong point. The immediate takes precedence (but isn't this true in everyone's life?). And like a letter I haven't found the time to finish, this BLoGs been inactive.

Oh, I've been busy, for sure. Surviving, mostly. Paris is sheer hell in summer. Oh, maybe you passed through one summer yourself as a tourist. You had some cash in your pocket and found it all charming. But to live here? Oh la la.

First there is no money to be made. I live in a neighborhood with ten bakeries within walking distance. There was a week were only 2 were open (and the 2 shitty ones at that). Imagine now that 80% of all commerce completely stops for a month and imagine what your chances of finding work would be.

Worse this is the second summer (though luckily not in a row) I had to go through a breakup with someone I was living with. This is a BLoG, I can tell you personal things like that. But then again, I don't like sharing my personal life with strangers, so that's all the details I'm giving.

Anyway on to the music and publicity part of the message. I did manage to get a gig a couple weeks ago at this tiny bar in the Fifth I used to host an open mike at. It's been so successful they keep inviting me back every Friday. This Friday it will finally be September. They'll be even more folks, so come on down and share the love after surviving another harsh August. I might even play something like this:

The Undisputed Truth - Mama I Got a Brand New Thing (Don't Say No) (1974)

Le bistro des artistes
rue Anglais Paris 75005
Metro: Cluny/La Sorbonne exit rue St. Jacques

Friday 2 September
22h - 2h; no cover

Somebody has a crush on you

2005-07-18T22:15:00.000+02:00

Mix Tape #1: "Swoon"
DJ Whistle Punk returns to Mange Disque, Thursday 21st of July to spin another fine set. The theme: Mix Tape (Swoon), a mysterious compilation sent to your earwaves. Songs that are soon to be your new favorites.

Mix Tape #1: Un truc qui s'appelle "Swoon".
Encore, une fois, au Mange Disque. DJ Whistle va faire une compile comme pour certain(e)s votre "secret admirer" avec des chansons qui deviendront les votres.

Thursday, July 21 / jeudi 21 julliet
9pm/21h - 2am/2h
no cover charge/entrée gratuite

Mange Disque
(a wine bar that sells records/bar à vin et boutique des disques)
58 rue de la Fontaine au Roi
Paris 75011

There's a good chance, if you don't show up to late, you'll get to hear songs like this:

März - Pop Song (2004)

I found this on somebody else's MP3 BLoG and can't seem to find the full album. Germany could be the next Sweden if somebody could get them better distribution.

Gimme the light

2005-06-27T13:08:00.000+02:00

About a week ago (or has it been two?!), a friend invited me to her performance at the Faites de la lumière out there in the nomansland in the 20th where every metro line is equidistant from a center where there is no service. That is NOT to imply it is a cultural wasteland, quite the opposite; the tourists may hold the center of Paris, but the locals of partying and creating on the outskirts. Case in point, cette fête. An old winding street is blocked off to traffic, artists are invited to make installations on the theme of light, and the public runs amok. Sorta a cross between a street fair and art gallery opening. Little kids are "painting" the sides of buildings using projectors, people are dancing under blacklight swathed in underwear and dayglo paints, teenagers are talking too loud on cell-phones.

This is a fine event for such a large city. It's the sorta thing I could imagine in Olympia, WA (Pop. 35,000), but Paris? Pas mal.

Speaking of Oly-town, Mind Your Pig, Latoya did a concert over at the Clipper the other night. I'm sure it was a kick. Just listen to this:

Mind Your Pig, Latoya - Angel (2005)

The ladies are playing at Ladyfest (as well as Wanda Jackson!). The link to the song will only last a week. So get 'em while they're hot and you can say "I knew them when..."

I am translating in a room

2005-06-13T14:25:00.000+02:00

[a bit long of a post, but they'll be a song at the end]

Taking a cue from Alvin Lucier, and Mark Twain, I spent a few minutes translating and re-translating a text of mine in and out of English and French utilizing Babel Fish.

After the rousing success of our first venture there, DJ Whistle Punk returns to Mange Disque for another night of wine, friends and fun. The theme: Psychedelic Music from around the world. We'll hit the underground underneath Sgt. Peppers. England and the US will be in force, but also music from Germany, Cambodia, Turkey, Japan and all around the world. Grab your friends and get ready to drop in and tune in to the Freak-In. Details below.

Après le succès suscitant de notre première entreprise là, DJ sifflent des retours Punks à Mange Disque pour une autre nuit de vin, des amis et d'amusement. Le thème : Musique psychédélique de partout dans le monde. Nous frapperons le souterrain sous sgt. Peppers. L'Angleterre et les USA seront en vigueur, mais également la musique d'Allemagne, Cambodge, Turquie, Japon et tout autour du monde. Saisissez vos amis et soyez prêt pour se laisser tomber dedans et accorder dedans au Anormal-Dans. Détails ci-dessous.

After the causing success of our first company there, DJ whistle Punks returns to Mange Disc for another night of wine, the friends and recreation. The topic: Psychedelic music of everywhere in the world. We will strike the underground under sgt. Peppers. England and the USA will be in force, but also the music of Germany, Kampuchea, Turkey, Japan and all around the world. Seize your friends and are ready to let itself fall inside and grant inside to Abnormal-In. Details below.

Après le succès causant de notre première compagnie là, DJ sifflent des retours de Punks au disque de Mange pour une autre nuit de vin, des amis et de récréation. La matière : Musique psychédélique partout dedans du monde. Nous frapperons le souterrain sous le sgt. poivres. L'Angleterre et les Etats-Unis seront en vigueur, mais également la musique de l'Allemagne, Kampuchea, Turquie, Japon et tout autour du monde. Saisissez vos amis et soyez prêt laissez-vous tomber à l'intérieur et la concession à l'intérieur à Anormal-Dans. Détails ci-dessous.

After the causing success of our first company there, DJ whistle returns of Punks to the disc of Eats for another night of wine, the friends and recreation. Matter: Psychedelic music everywhere inside of the world. We will strike the underground under the sgt. peppers. England and the United States will be in force, but also the music of Germany, Kampuchea, Turkey, Japan and all around the world. Seize your friends and are ready drop you inside and the concession inside to Abnormal-In. Details below.

I have't followed it long enough to see if it eventually stablizes (as say with the nouns) or make small adjustments everytime becoming more and more, shall we say psychedelic?

Psychedelic music hit in the late 60s admist global changes in power, economics, and movement of cultural ideas. Though one generally traces it roots to the US or the UK, traces of it find their way in to many popular musics. In Cambodia, just be before the rise of Pol Pot, there was evidently a scene. The only evidence that remains are compulations such as Cambodian Rocks!, offering the music. Unknown are the artists, the titles and whether they survive the killing fields.

Unknown - Unknown (track ten from Cambodian Rocks!)

Freak-In'ternational

2005-06-08T14:55:00.000+02:00

From the propaganda files of DJ Whistle Punk:

Crazier than a Freak-Out. Sexier than a Love-In.
It's a Freak-In'ternational.

After the rousing success of our first venture there, DJ Whistle Punk returns to Mange Disque for another night of wine, friends and fun. The theme: Psychedelic Music from around the world. We'll hit the underground underneath Sgt. Peppers. England and the US will be in force, but also music from Germany, Cambodia, Turkey, Japan and all around the world. Grab your friends and get ready to drop in and tune in to the Freak-In.

Details:

Thursday, 9 June, 9pm to 2am (pre-mix drink with the DJ: 8pm)
Mange Disque
58 rue de la fontaine au roi, 11è
Metro: Goncourt

And a little something to put you in the mood:

Mavi Isiklar - Benim Dunyam Sensin (1967 Turkey)

taken from his album 33 'sayan.

J'ai pas mal des chose à faire.

2005-05-25T20:36:00.000+02:00

Molly Picon : Busy Busy

Oi vey! You said it girl.

Lost in Translation

2005-05-03T14:27:00.000+02:00

The other day, meeting some friends up there at the coulée verte behind the Bastille (a recently discovered little urban sanctuary in Paris, not yet overrun by tourists. It's an old railroad tresle converted into a lovely park.), conversation turned on the word "crowbar." "What is a crowbar in French?" I inquired. None of the four gathered knew and we turned to the sole French native and acted out using a crowbar until she understood. "Oh, c'est un pied-de-biche!" (Literally, foot of a deer.)

Now for the three Americans gathered, this seemed the silliest nomenclature. If any animal's gonna try and jack your car late at night, it ain't gonna be no Bambi.

Later that same day, I'm having dinner with two friends: a Swede and a French woman and I relate this story to them. After finding out the Swedish word, "kofot" (literally, cow foot), I'm suddenly in the minority. Suddenly (like Schwarzenegger's political career) animals mean enough to want to wield iron bars are losing ascendency to grazing animals. (I'm not sure one should trust cows so much, they might try and jack your car. I just can't imagine what they'd do with it after.)

Here's an odd bit of translation:

Cindi & Bert -- Der Hund von Baskerville (c. 1971)

How it was that the abstract meanderings of Ozzy became a Sherlock Holmes story is in itself a mystery worthy of the detective. Even odder is why did Cindi and Bert choose to cover Black Sabbath instead of, say, The Monkees or the 1910 Fruitgum Company? Rammstein, that's certainly dark enough, and Einstürzende Neubauten could inspire more chills than Black Sabbath itself. In fact, to the American ear, pretty much anything in the German tongue inspires fear. Die Schlümpfe? Hermann Hesse? They're probably machines that eat babies. Eine kleine nachtmusic? What ever it is, keep it away from me! But Cindi and Bert? Weren't they on Sesame Street?

True Story.

2005-04-27T12:30:00.000+02:00

The other day, meeting a Friendster friend of a good friend's ex-boyfriend over there at the Bastille (that monument in Paris famous for no longer existing), I saw a cop put a gun to somebody's head. At first, I didn't realize he was a policeman and thought I was to be witness to a random shooting. Three plain clothes officers swarmed a slowly moving car carrying three young men; through the open window one cop screaming "Arretez!" pointed his gun an inch from this man's face, who, scared, hunched forward and braced for impact. He was not even the driver, who, in turn, gunned car (an odd turn of phrase in light of the circumstances) into the mess of traffic that is the Bastille roundabout and, at least, the cop was wise enough not to pull the trigger. They gave chase on foot to the moving car (here, those on foot probably had the advantage), but my eyes did not pursue the rest.

I seem to choose to live in places of great mythology. Paris buttressed by a chamber of commerce of Hugo and Hemingway. Before that was Olympia, WA a place either unknown (I interpolated once into a story describing Oly: “Oh, we’re not loved. We’re not even hated. We’re only sweetly ignored.” I no longer remember the origin of the quote.) or considered a nouveau Shangri-La. Before that was L.A., which, though quite a myth to many, I just never got over the idea of it as the place where the freeway (and thus my cross-country voyage) ended. I seem to be forever on the verge of developing cynicism living the reality of a mythical place. Yet I never do.

Besides folks being a bit gaga over the thought of "living in Paris," I'm often asked what's happening in music here. To outsiders, the French music scene is a bit insular (this is a more polite judgement than the popular "insipid"). Actually most of those "outsiders" are ex-pats living in town who've seen too many bad bar bands.

Needless to say, French music isn't American music: it doesn't carry that full-steam ahead produce more than anyone could ever consume value. Though it's no Sweden either. It chugs along quietly, thinking about things, maybe sending out a Gainsbourg, Air or Daft Punk every 20 odd years or so. It also seems to have that same contemporary problem of doing everything in English to "reach a wider market." Luckily, my favorite album of late is by a French woman, from her album "La saison volée." She does do an English song or two, and one in Spanish; but mostly it's in her native tongue. And it's a cuddle and a half.

Françoiz Breut -- La vie devant soi (2005)

Tomorrow too

2005-04-20T12:48:00.000+02:00

Today too
out of this urge to cry
I went to the city
and out of this urge to cry
came home from the city. Kitahura Hakushu

Well another gig down there at Cité U. I had the worst gig of my life there (probably a year ago now): partially because of late arriving inefficient equipment (which, worse, failed during the set; crashing the party to a halt; until a replacement came in), bad communication, folks asking for too much for too little money (worse I didn't get paid what I was promised) (Although, all-in-all, I saw it through to the end and a lot of folks had a good time). Definitely worth a BLoG post recounting the blow-by-blow horrors. But a year later, I've got other fish to fry.

Anyway, my friend, David, became president of the American House at Cité U, and hires me occasionally for parties. Now this University seems a pretty great idea: 20 or so different nations, all with their own house, living and working together on one campus. The possibilities for diversity!

And yet, everytime I spin there all the requests are ripped from the top ten American R and B charts: Usher and Ludicris. I remember once getting a request for P-Diddy (during that worst gig of my life) and thinking: "P-Diddy? Do people actually listen to P-Diddy? (I've never heard a song by him, so I haven't an opinion on his artistic merit) Here's your chance to be away from home, experience what you may never experience again, and I've got some great Turkish psychedelic music that'll really blow your shit. Sure you wouldn't rather hear that?"

But the first rule of being a DJ of the Folk is "Sometimes you gotta play Madonna." I'll pack up the 50 Cent and Usher, Madonna and Kylie, just for the kids.

Of course, the second rule is, "And sometimes you shouldn't." That's why I'll also bring along things like:

E. T. Mensah & the Tempos Dance Band -- Save Me (1969)

The dance is free and open to the public. Stop by if you get the chance and request something that'll even scare me.

Jeudi 21 avril aprés 21h
Cité Université
Foundation Etats-Unis 15 Blvd Jourdan
Entrée libre

The Day the Music Died

2005-04-18T12:14:00.000+02:00

My AudioScrobbler seemed to stop accepting my submissions, and just when I finally got a copy of MY PL. What is one to make of this?

There was some sorta spyware on my computer the other day and perhaps the two have something to do with one another. It's a world full of thieves and shysters as much as it is filled with honest folk. The latter reacts by barracading within a bulwark (conservatives in religion or family, liberals in odd complex networks of communities).

Somewhere after 1976 American society fell apart (I mostly blame Star Wars and Ronald Reagan). My idea of Society simply being that though the thing doesn't work really well, everyone agrees to keep plugging away at it mutually together.

Case in point: DJing. My arch-nemesis, (recently downgraded to #2 position) Madonna, quips that "Music brings the people together." One would think; most of it has a 4/4 beat (except, oddly enough, A-ha's "Take on Me") and if a DJ has a sense of rise, fall, and rerise, they should do well. But there's so much cultural baggage attached to songs, one finds folks running behind specializations, sporting their badges and flags.

This isn't bad in and of itself. Culture develops as a small set of people pursue a specific idea and then react against it and rethink it. But to have no desire to explore the "other," to me is just bizarre. When someone comes up to me when I'm spinning and says "Can you just play hip-hop or we're leaving!" One doesn't really get the feeling like we're working on something here together.

This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't a mirror of society.

Then there's the internet. After 20 years of American "society" saying "don't go outside, your neighbors will shoot you," the marketing forces of software manufacturing forced everyone on-line. Now we're being thrown back into society: spyware, crazed lunatics, sex, love and innocence. Funny thing, all that.

Blah blah blah. How 'bout a song?

Corvus Trouteyes -- Love Your Crooked Neighbor (2002)

I met Corvus one night when I was hosting a soirée at Le Bistro des artistes (though we were at one time almost neighbors, he living in Seattle, WA). Un type d'un certain age with his guitar, wife, unassuming and flirtatious demeanor. With a voice that almost doesn't work but does (imagine if Jad Fair was born 15 years earlier in Montana). He gave me a copy of his CD and I'm sure he wouldn't me sharing a tune with you.

And since my Scrobbler thing don't seem to be working, I've got to spread the love somehow.

Hello World

2005-04-11T11:32:00.001+02:00

Back in the day when Jo hn used to work at Golden Oldies in lovely downtown Olympia, WA, USA (a city ordinance requires this specific nomenclature, downtown Oly's not really that lovely), he had a theory that the music I loved most was by female artists, denoted only by their first name, singing bubblegum dance pop.

This could be true. I'm not without certain obsessions.

But the theory quickly falls apart when I DJ. Case in point, Madonna. She is my nemesis, as I am perhaps the only DJ in the world who can clear a dance floor by playing her music. Someone says, "Play some Madonna, fer chissakes!" I begrudging comply with "Cherish" thinking there's a tune by her they probably haven't heard in awhile. Everybody leaves the dance floor. "Not that Madonna!" How does that old song go? "You gotta please yourself..."

(As a side note, Madonna does have the distinction of having the only song I will not play under any circumstances: "Material Girl." Cheap attempt at Reagan era cynicism made worse, like the film Star Wars, of being lovingly embraced by the masses. Consider my refusal a first step towards a more enlightened future when the majority opinion will be, "Gee, what a shitty song.")

Let's not even get into Beyoncé. Outside that tune she did with Sean Paul, what's the point?

"Well," you might be saying "we've all got problems, kid, what is this music you actually like?" Ah, well how about Chandra:

Chandra: Concentraction (1980)

This little ditty came from the KAOS vinyl library, a collection someone should invest the time to digitize and distribute for it's cultural value. Hey, I do my part when I'm in town. Like the above tune. It comes from a three song EP issued in 1980. Not having the album before me, I can't tell you much more, except I remember she looked about 12 in her album photo and I think it was on a label out of England.

The net hasn't been of much use to me in finding info about her. One name artists may be a nice little sub-genre for collectors, but one is more apt to find out about Sheila Chandra than poor old (or, rather, young) Chandra. Any info you may have would make my day.

I might just play some of her stuff on Wednesday (April 13) down at OPA (9 rue Biscornet - 75012 PARIS Métro: Bastille - sortie rue de Lyon) between 20h and 2h. The singer/actress Alexandra Roos is the feature (she goes on at 9, I'll mix before and after), so I might lay down a poppy chansony sorta set, though if the kids start dancing, I won't do anything to interrupt the vibe.

Unless they request "Material Girl."