Tokyo F.A.T
(cross post from bennettwilliamson.com)
My friend and fellow artist Raphy Griswold and I have had an ongoing mail art / cassette exchange going for the past few years. This month I put together my latest contribution, and decided to digitize it before mailing the original copy. I treated my broke self to a $20 cassette deck at the local thrift spot for my birthday, and this came together pretty quickly after that.
Last week during FAT GOLD, I organized an alternate A/V stream called FAT Public Access on which I hosted a series of performances, talks, lectures, and informal chats broadcast live from Eyebeam’s gallery space to the web. It’s rare that FATLAB gets together in person, and I wanted to capture some of the energy & dialogue that pours forth when we do. I also wanted to use our show (and Eyebeam’s equipment!) as a platform to present the work of artists, librarians, curators, musicians, researchers, and friends whose projects dovetail with the values and themes of FATLAB.
It was fun to play host whether facing an audience or just the reverb of the empty gallery space. While doing a public access show live meant I spent most of the week trapped at Eyebeam, it had the side effect of making lots of my friends come to me, so many many thanks to those that attended & performed. Hopefully this documentation is a window into the action for FAT members and international audience not in attendance.
Big thanks to Eyebeam staff, curator Lindsay Howard, and all the FATLAB homies.
If you can’t hang with the real deal 4:3 flv video quality (#2013), I also have provided the audio separately for radio-style enjoyment. Click through for the full list!
4.2.13
Talking Fidonet w/ Kevin Driscoll
Kevin Driscoll joined us from Los Angeles via Skype to discuss Fidonet and other salient topics surrounding his dissertation Hobbyist inter-networking and the popular internet imaginary: Forgotten histories of networked personal computing, 1977-1997. We talk about looking at the ‘people’s history’ of the web and communication technologies as a way to provide the backbone in arguments for user-driven infrastructure in today’s conglomerated networks, duh! MP3
Jamming with Critter & Guitari
Brooklyn-based synth makers Critter & Guitari, nee Chris Kucinski & Owen Osborn, talk briefly about how they manage their fun project that turned into a business, and then jam profusely on Kaleidoloops, Bolsa Basses, Pocket Pianos and other #rare homemade junk, with some friends along for the ride. MP3
As you may or may not know, I host a weekly radio show on WFMU called Awesome New Place. For the FAT Garage Sale, I thought I’d just highlight some notable internet-related guests I had on the show from this past year;
May 12 2011 – Clams Casino
Clams, noted producer for Lil B, Clams plays a bunch of dope unreleased beats and talks about his strategy of making lots of beats and sending them to lots of people. Its a classic example of release early and often – throw it all against the wall and see what sticks.
Stream | Playlist
April 7 2011 – DJ FILETYPE SWF (aka Joel Holmberg)
Noted internet and IRL artist Joel Holmberg transforms into DJ FILETYPE SWF and djs 2.5 straight hours of websites. Literally – opening tabs in Firefox on .swf sites + shoutouts/mouse clicks + MAD REVERB.
Stream | Playlist
December 9 2010 – Title TK
Title TK is a ‘band’ that talks about music rather than playing it. Howie Chen, Alan Licht, and Cory Arcangel strap on guitars but never plug in and instead talk about music websites, Iron Maiden’s breakup, Vampire Weekend in advertising, etc etc.
Stream | Playlist
November 4 2010 – Jon Rafman
Noted internet and IRL and Second Life artist Jon Rafman talks about his quasi-documentary film Code of Honor, for which he spent months interviewing gamers at Chinatown Fair arcade in NYC, plus a set of video game music and talk of Japanese culture seeping over to North America.
Stream | Playlist
September 2 2010 – G-Chat with Willy Staley
Blogger/author/San Franciso native Willy Staley came through and we dedicated a whole show to talking about what rap and the internet are doing to each other, touching on (no homo) 4Loko, people saying “no homo,” rappers as early adopters of technology, fake viral rap videos, Trap Goin Ham, etc etc.
Stream | Playlist
August 26 2010 – Javelin
FAT-favorites Javelin came through and recorded a live set, and talk about the difficulty of making a show out of electronic music, collaborating, releasing bits and pieces online, and fan feedback.
Stream | Playlist | Download
Last week on my radio show, Awesome New Place, I was joined by author and Nation of Thizzlam blogger Willy Staley, for a special episode called G-Chat.
Our talk circled loosely around rap in the YouTube era, touching on rappers getting famo, memes vs. trends, scraper bikes staying relevant, DIY cereal backpacks and instructional dance videos, Bubb Rubb, turf dancing, format wars, the Lil B – Soulja Boy connection, the culdesac vs. the hood, haul videos and mommy blogging, bros icing bros, 4Loko, white tees, vans, and “How the Looming Specter of Viral Marketing Ruins Rap Songs About Consumer Goods.”
Though we raised more questions than we answered, its definitely a must-listen chapter in FAT’s ongoing discussions of famo, viral marketing, and rap.
Stream the show right here and view the playlist for tons of links to relevant vids and media on all the above topics and so much more.
“If you’re doing the reverse running man in skinny teal jeans in your culdesac and no one is there to film it, what are you really doing?” – Willy Staley, 2010
The expressions published in this site are all in the public domain. You may enjoy, use, modify, snipe about and republish all F.A.T. media and technologies as you see fit.