on the lookout for the cool stuff…

Amanda Palmer is my hero.

starting at 4pm (ET) tonight, she and 2 other musicians (Ben Folds, Damian Kulash) and a writer (Neil Gaiman, also her husband) are going to lock themselves in a studio for 8 hours to write and record an album’s worth of songs. from scratch.

and video webcast the whole process, live.

you can read the details in her blog: ReThink Music (I’M MAKING A NINJA-RECORD w/ BEN FOLDS, DAMIAN KULASH, and NEIL)

the music that results may be great, mediocre or abysmal. who knows?
the whole thing could be a massive trainwreck. or it could be brilliant.

but it is something new, using the internet in completely innovative and daring ways to create and distribute art.
and that always intrigues and excites me.

i won’t get home from work early enough to see the beginning of this event, but i definitely plan on watching quite a bit of it.

i have more to say about Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman, and the myriad ways they are exploring, using and playing with this new toy we call the internet, but those ideas will have to wait for another time. for now, i wanted to make sure i told you about this event BEFORE it happened so that we can be a part of it.

we live in interesting and exciting times…

The Johnny Cash Project.

 

 

if you’re not familiar with it yet, watch this video and/or listen to (read) the recent NPR story: A Chance To Work With Johnny Cash Beyond The ‘Grave’. they explain it much better than i possibly could.

 

 

of course, i’m a Johnny Cash fan. who isn’t?
i respect, admire… LOVE the Man In Black. who doesn’t??

and this project is a movingly brilliant tribute to the man and his music.

it is also a bright glimpse into the new era of art we are moving into…

for a very brief moment of human history, the arts became something different. they became commodities.

that’s not what they’re for…

the arts are for people to express and explore and share what it means to BE.
ALL people. not a select and/or elite few. that would be absurd.

the internet is giving the arts back to the people.
and enabling us to create new forms of art.
interactive, collaborative forms.
creating in ways we have not even begun yet to imagine…

i’m excited. and thrilled to be a part of it.

 

did i add any frames to The Johnny Cash Project?
i think you know the answer to that…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

do at least one frame yourself. srsly.
you’ll be amazed at how it feels when you actually participate in, and become part of, this everchanging remarkable work of art. it’s unexpected and there’s no way i can describe it…

the beauty is not in any one frame, but in how we all work together.
by being ourselves, and each doing it our own way.

 

The Johnny Cash Project

 

 

 

yeah, it’s monday.
and monday sucks.
want it to suck less?

then sign up for Chicago Mixtape. now.

“Making Monday Suck Less Since 2011″ is their slogan and i have to say that they truly deliver on that promise.

it’s simple. you give them your email address.
then, every monday, they send you an email with a link to an easy download of about 8 songs by Chicago artists, and information about where they’re playing that week.

free. every week. and even a special extra mix once in a while…

the music is excellent. i don’t love every song, but that’s ok.
i’ve been turned on to a lot of great artists i might not even have heard of otherwise: Rachel Ries, Velcro Lewis, Del Rey… just to name a few.

admittedly, i haven’t gone to any of their shows yet, but that’s mostly a factor of Chicago weather. even so, i’ve been tempted and as it warms up a bit, i will.

i don’t remember how i heard about Chicago Mixtape and i wish i did cuz i want to send a huge “thank you” to whoever was responsible.

i got lucky and got in right at the beginning, receiving the Starter Mixtape and the very first email, sent on Valentine’s Day. as of now, it looks like the older mixes are no longer available, so you’ve missed out on 7 weekly mixes, and a couple extras. but if you sign up now, you won’t miss any more and your mondays will suck less. i promise.

Chicago Mixtape
“Making Monday Suck Less Since 2011″

btw, i have NO connection to Chicago Mixtape other than being a subscriber and a fan, and perhaps a hope that The Cut-Outs and/or i will be included in a mix at some point…