• Hollywoodland

Breaking News

May 23, 2005 – 11:59 pm ·

In the “Fame For Lauren” Department, we have the following item: Lauren is back from DC. Everyone say hi to Lauren!

By will | Posted in Hollywoodland | Comments (0)
  • Hollywoodland

A thing about marbles

May 22, 2005 – 1:37 am ·

Taking ecstasy is like this:

You swallow a small pill. After anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour you look down at the table in front of you and you think, “Wow. What are all these marbles?”

They’re arranged in a neat little pile, glossy, irridescent and shot through with color. Thanks to the little white “S” they look like Skittles from Heaven. But the little “S” actually stands for serotonin. The fun begins.

During the next three to four hours those little marbles pop, one by one (not like a balloon or a bubble might pop–it’s rather a smoky bloom, quiet expansion and then disspiation, like mist.) When they pop, something interesting happens. Exactly what can vary, but here are a few examples:

– You might yourself spreading your hands across the nearest soft pillow, impressed beyond words by its texture.

– You might smell your friend’s skin in a way that you might not in, say, a church or a board meeting.

– If you’re in a club, you might wonder why none of the world’s scientists have figured out that beat and melody might possibly cure the world’s ills. Especially this particular mix of “Star Guitar.”

– You might discover a passion you didn’t know you had for the color of your new friend’s eyes.

– You might find yourself utterly convinced that if the leaders fo the world could sit down in your living room under similar circumstances there we’d all enjoy world peace.

Sometimes the marbles cease their popping for a moment. Sometimes they go off like champagne. As the evening deepens and your collection of marbles has dissipated to nothing, you gather and watch a quirky comedy.

The next day you float like a glider angling towards the earth.

Then a few days later, you might be, oh…at work, say, and you might have had a conversation with your supervisor about your performance level maybe, and about how people are worried that your lower-than-usual work standard is the result of some tragic entropy of the will and you might say no, no, no, you’ve just been busy herding cats for the past month and you’re plumb knackered. You could really use some of those Skittles from Heaven.

But since you used up your weeks supply last Sunday your body’s busy making more. None of them are off the assembly line yet.

Welcome to the midweek comedown. Some are okay with it. Some hit the Earth like a meteor. (For me, there’s a clouding of the mind. A dark kind of quiet settles. My sense of humor slinks off to a corner to sulk.) Then after a day or so, the first new marble rolls off the conveyor with a clink. It unfolds. And your on your way back up. During this stage I always seem to cultivate an obsession with a band or a certain kind of music.

Oh and by the way, here’s a Wilco song for you to enjoy. I’ve been strangely obsessed with these guys this week.

Wilco: Kingpin.mp3 (8.8 Megs)

By will | Posted in Hollywoodland, life in hollywood, mp3, stories | Comments (1)
  • Hollywoodland

John + Exene

May 20, 2005 – 10:32 am ·

My newest post is up over at LAist. Go check it out.

By will | Posted in cool pics, Hollywoodland, life in hollywood | Comments (0)
  • Hollywoodland

Formula For Blog Fame

May 18, 2005 – 9:20 am ·

This was written by my brother, Keir, in the comments to yesterday’s post.

The gauntlet is thrown! Its now an all out competition to see who can get more written about themselves in William’s blog… hmm, there has to be a formula here…
Perhaps this:

Blog Exposure is a function of several variables so

B(t, u, v, w, k)= 5t+4u+2v+w-2k

where

t = amoeba employment

u = one’s relative obscurity

v = femaleness

w = celebrity

k = 1 if your name is Keir, 0 if not

So to raise my ‘B’ score I need to get a job at amoeba, become obscure, act less male, get known by others and change my name. No problem.

BTW, this is a joke Will

…but true enough to be very funny.

By will | Posted in Hollywoodland, humor | Comments (0)
  • Music

DJ Debut

May 18, 2005 – 8:47 am ·

Set your calendars, kids. Next week, May 25, is my DJ debut at Amoeba Music in Hollywood. I’ll be setting my hands on the wheels of steel at about 8:30 and spin for an hour and a half. I’m billed as DJ HUMBLE (because I’m the best DJ ever,) and it’s described on the flyer as a dark, serpentine journey through the halls of progressive house. Bring your own glowsticks.

And no, I won’t be playing the KYLIE MINOGUE. Though I did think about it.

By will | Posted in amoeba, Music | Comments (0)
  • Hollywoodland

Social Workers

May 17, 2005 – 8:26 am ·

“Why would you ever want to work with old people?” says LAUREN. She’s quoting people who question her emphasis on Gerontology in pursuing her Masters Degree in Social Work Welfare at Berkeley.

Then she relates a story told to her by a classmate whose focus was on child welfare, about a father who got his fourteen year old daughter strung out on drugs and then made her invite her young friends over for sleepovers, during which he then molested them.

“Give me a demented old queen over that any day,” she says.

I like Lauren.

DAYLE’S Masters emphasis was on Mental Health. “Me? I wanna work with criminally insane teens.”

Good for Dayle.

I’ve been up in the Bay Area for a few days, attending the graduation celebrations (both formal and otherwise) of the two women above. They’ve just finished studying at Berkeley, which also happens to be the birthplace of Amoeba Music.

I don’t have time to craft a more clever connection than that between the text and the image in this post. Have a nice day.

By will | Posted in amoeba, Hollywoodland, stories | Comments (0)
  • Music

cd club

May 13, 2005 – 3:07 pm ·

I’m in West Sacramento, hanging out at my brother’s house. Procrastination is underway. I’ve sat down to do a little work. Instead, I’m posting. But it’s high time I did so anwyay.

So here’s the tracklist for my contribution to Amoeba’s CD club. Eleven of us formed the club a few months ago. The idea is that every two weeks, one of us puts together a mix disc of stuff we like, stuff we’re listening to, stuff we want to share and then we make copies for everyone else. Of course, feeling like the musical idiot of the group, I agonize for days over my tracklist. Then I finally say, “to hell with it” and throw this together. More important to me than the content is the overall flow of the disc and the actual mixing (which I accomplish using SoundForge 6.0.) Check it:

1. Intro – Daniel Johnston – Speeding Motorcycle (excerpt)

2. Carl Stalling – Orchestra Gag

3. Alberto Iglesias – Otra Vez Huyendo Y Sin Despedirme

4. Lujon – Henry Mancini

5. Hotel Specific – Mick Harvey

6. So Here We Are – Bloc Party

7. The Slider – T Rex

8. Out Of Line – The Bravery

9. Technova (La Em Copacabana) – Towa Tei

10. Useless (from the Erin Brockovich ST) – Thomas Newman

11. Kangaroo SFX – Carl Stalling

12. The Things That You Say That You Do – Dressy Bessy

13. Baby C’Mon – Stephen Malkmus

14. At Her Open Door – Dead Meadow

15. Never Trust A Monkey – Space Ghost (featuring Brak)

16. Zurif Mousa – Muslimgauze

17. The Tree Of Rhythm – Taufiq Qureshi

18. Team9 vs. Giorgio Moroder vs. NIN – Flashdance Love Theme vs. The Hand That Feeds

19. Scat Sandwich – Space Ghost, Brak and Zorak

20. Barnaby, Hardly Working – Yo La Tengo

21. Going Down Slow – Spiritualized

22. Todo Sobre Mi Madre – Alberto Iglesias

23. Speeding Motorcycle – Yo La Tengo w/ Daniel Johnston

Some of the cuts I’ve only heard once when I consider them for the mix. Some of them are old standbys. Some I pulled from vinyl. Some I plucked from the Web (#13, #14, #18…) I’m happy with it. And if you send me an email and express fawning interest, I might consider sending you a copy.

By will | Posted in amoeba, Music | Comments (0)
  • keefe
  • Music

Music Reviews!

May 10, 2005 – 8:46 am ·

In the middle of an early-week crush, but I want to mention that Michael Keefe has weighed in again with his latest round of music reviews. Check them out here. As usual, it’s a intelligent, clever and informed bit of writing.

Until I set up some cool margin links, click to re-visit the collections from March and January.


By will | Posted in keefe, Music | Comments (0)
  • Hollywoodland

celeb stuff

May 8, 2005 – 12:02 am ·

We get all kinds.

A couple weeks ago I assist a customer with a vinyl purhase. He’s curious about the soundtrack for Andromeda Strain that’s on one of the columns up on the Mezzanine. Some pricer or other has written on the outer sleeve, “This is the best one we’ve seen!” The backing is silver. Six thin cardboard flaps fold together in an iris valve pattern that, when opened, reveal a hexagonal slab of vinyl. The customer, a polite, graceful chap with the hint of a British accent, shares my enthusiasm for the coolness of this record. It bears a price tag of $100. (click here for a page at Film Score Monthly that contains an interesting look at the disc’s creation.) The customer declares, “I think I’m going to have to get it.” So I carefully refold the iris valve, slip it back into its sleeve and ask him his name so I can put it on hold for him. “Amon Tobin.” Man, do I want to gush something appreciative and overbearing, but I nod and say, “Yeah, yeah, I know how to spell it.”

And then later that evening I notice Corey Feldman flipping through the Smut section.


By will | Posted in Hollywoodland | Comments (0)
  • Music

Thomas Newman: Men Don’t Leave

May 6, 2005 – 4:41 pm ·

Back in October I waxed rhapsodic about film composer Thomas Newman. Last week I finally manage to track down a high-quality boot of his score for the Paul Brickman film, Men Don’t Leave (Brickman, you might remember, had the musical wherewithall to use Tangerine Dream for his earlier film, Risky Business.) This score even contains the in-movie avant-garde piece that Arliss Howard’s character was to have composed (and is performed in the film, complete with staccato typewriter strikes and hand-cranked egg-beaters.)

There are no track titles, though I’m currently scouring the internet for clues. Check out Track Eight in the meantime:

Men Don’t Leave: mp3

Now to wait for this odd, beautifully composed, strangely overlooked film to come to DVD…

By will | Posted in mp3, Music, thomas newman |
Tagged , , | Comments (37)

    telling porkies

    May 5, 2005 – 2:03 pm ·

    This is kind of old news now, but a follow-up to that earlier post about the UC Berkeley professor who delivered the towering threat against the student who stole his laptop reveals that his threats were, in fact, hollow. Check out this story for more info.

    Heh-heh. “Telling porkies.” I think I like that expression.

    By will | Posted in current events, humor | Comments (0)
    • Music

    Coachella Pics

    May 5, 2005 – 12:22 pm ·

    Since returning from my Saturday stint at Coachella I’ve been working non-stop. Today’s my first day off. I plan to spend it writing. But so this blog doesn’t remain dormant any longer I thought I’d post some pics from the festival.

    The crowd waiting to get in is massive, but in good spirits. The bag checker sees my empty Nalgene bottle and declares that bottles are illegal. I begin to pull it out so he can see it’s empty (still verboten) and he says, “Don’t pull it out. I’ll have to throw it away! Enjoy the show.”

    Llyr and I plan our itinerary. I never make it to Bauhaus, succumbing to the temptation to see Hernan Cattaneo, an Argentinian DJ I’ve long admired.

    Dragonfly scuplture. This thing doubled as a mister, and looked especially cool at night.

    Llyr and I wait for Stereophonics to kick into gear.

    Ghosting revelers:

    Inside the misting tent. Apparently this place was pretty cool later in the evening.

    Big baby:

    Bicycle-powered thrill-ride:

    The huge Tesla coil:

    Inside the Sahara tent. Josh Wink spins in this picture. Once ensnared by the beats, I’m trapped. I don’t leave this place for the rest of the night.

    Hernan Cattaneo spins a deep, dark set:

    I actually take a handful of short video clips with my Canon. If you’re curious, I’ve collected them here. The files are short on length and long on file size. But they offer a teeny glimpse into…well, mostly the Sahara tent.

    By will | Posted in Coachella, cool pics, Music | Comments (0)
    • Hollywoodland

    drives

    April 29, 2005 – 12:11 am ·

    1.

    I’m in the final stages of ripping my CD collection, after which I’m going to sell the entire lot at work. All that music adds up to about 150 gigs when compressed to 224kps mp3. The new external hard drive sitting atop my pc will hold all that plus more. Gone will be the fabled rows and rows of jewel-encrusted discs lining my shelves like a fractured, dusty spectrum of prismatic, radiant hope. In their place will be this slender silver thingy.

    2.

    Also silver, quite a bit larger, but every bit as sleek is the new set of wheels. The ’83 Honda Accord still sits out front waiting for someone who wants to part with three C-notes in exchange for a unique, hands-on driving experience. The new car is a ’98 Beetle. When I got it, the interior smelled strongly of disinfectant. That has worn off. It now smells like St. Bernard. The way I see it, I can do one of three things. Shampoo the upholstery. Burn an entire package of incence. Buy a St. Bernard.

    3.

    Speaking of drives, Saturday, Llyr and a couple of her friends and I are making a rather long one to sunny Coachella Valley for the day. I’d not been looking forward to the experience, but now that it’s drawing close I’m more and more excited. Big problems with the lineup, though. I really want to see Hernan Cattaneo spin. I dig his style. But do I really want to miss Bauhaus for that? Yet, if I stay through Cattaneo, maybe I can get up close and personal with The Chemical Brothers, whom I’d much rather bob drunkenly to than Coldplay. What to do??

    I don’t know who this guy is, but this is Coachella Valley. Where we’re gonna be there’ll be grass.

    4.

    Tonight I skipped out on a drinks invite with friends because of a drink invite with another friend, which I then skipped because of a play that neighbor Bertila Damas is in. And then I skipped out on that. Why? Because when it comes to the Work, I have tunnel vision.

    Befriend me at your peril.

    By will | Posted in Hollywoodland | Comments (0)

      bleary-eyed

      April 27, 2005 – 8:39 am ·

      I’m in the middle of another one of those hell weeks. This is that kind of week where I work Saturday and Sunday at Amoeba, then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from ten in the morning till 11:30 at night. I have Thursday off because I’ve got to go see the doctor about the high hemoglobin levels they discovered in my blood (they want to re-test; I’ll try to get pictures this time.) Then it’s another thirteen hours on Friday. Saturday I’m going to Coachella to (not) see Cocteau Twins.

      I’m so foggy it’s a wonder I don’t pass out at the computer. But I did want to pop in long enough to point out that those of you who always felt that you love the nuance and atmosphere of Rambo but abhor the violence might soon be able to distill the film into that ten minute nugget of joy you always wanted. Coming soon: The Family Movie Act, paving the way for ClearPlay.

      P.S. I wanted to come up with a graphic of Rambo holding a gun with a daisy stuck in its muzzle, but I just don’t have the time. So help me out and pretend that I did just that.

      By will | Posted in check it out, daily drift | Comments (0)

        When Harry Met Sally

        April 23, 2005 – 12:13 pm ·

        I’m throwing this thing onto eBay today. It’s an odd style one-sheet for When Harry Met Sally. The thing is, I can find no identifying information that tells me exactly which style it is. It’s definitely not Style A. That’s the one we all know from the cover of the disc. Does anyone have a clue?

        By will | Posted in check it out, cool pics | Comments (0)