Muxtape, Neutered

Fucking shit they did it, they killed muxtape (kind of). The bastards.

Mad props to Justin for braving the storm as best he could. But it just goes to show that bureaucracy and avarice can muck(s-tape) shit up pretty quick. It was cool while it lasted yo':

"Muxtape is relaunching as a service exclusively for bands, offering an extremely powerful platform with unheard-of simplicity for artists to thrive on the internet. Musicians in 2008 without access to a full time web developer have few options when it comes to establishing themselves online, but their needs often revolve around a common set of problems. The new Muxtape will allow bands to upload their own music and offer an embeddable player that works anywhere on the web, in addition to the original muxtape format. Bands will be able to assemble an attractive profile with simple modules that enable optional functionality such as a calendar, photos, comments, downloads and sales, or anything else they need. The system has been built from the ground up to be extended infinitely and is wrapped in a template system that will be open to CSS designers. There will be more details soon. The beta is still private at the moment, but that will change in the coming weeks.

I realize this is a somewhat radical shift in functionality, but Muxtape’s core goals haven’t changed. I still want to challenge the way we experience music online, and I still want to work to enable what I think is the most interesting aspect of interconnected music: discovering new stuff."

Granted to be in the spirit of things, my band will certainly be among the first to join muxtape. Because we love you, mux and all that you stand for. Even if you stand for something totally different.

Fight the Power, brotha.

Top 10 Things You'll Miss in College

Dear former self,

Had I told you several months ago (or now? rather) that you would be going to Harvard you would have shrugged and asked me what the hell happened with Brown/RISD. But since this was more or less inevitable, give-or-take the possible changes of heart that might have occurred in the admissions office, here are a few things you really ought to know about Harvard... or college in general.

The 10 things you'll miss the most... not at all in order:

1. Not having to worry about being lawn ornaments on a landmark
You'll be living in Holworthy, which though rad (Conan O'Brien totally lived on the first floor in 1981, yo) it happens to be on the path of Harvard Unofficial Tours. So keep dem blinds shut, and try to hide your unmentionables in the bottom of your hamper so when the Chinese tourists come a'clickin' your skanky panties don't end up in their photo album.
2. Bathroom time as a leisure necessity
Pooping in solitude is largely a luxury. Next time get a suite with lockable bathroom doors. On a related note, you'd be able to sing in the shower too.
3. Blaring your most indulgent guilty pleasures at full volume
While your suitemates may be playing Lil' Wayne and Carrie Underwood on the daily, knowing the music snob that you are, you're only going to be listening to the digestible good stuff out loud (Andrew Bird, The American Analog Set etc.) at least until your roomies know you better. Save the Kpop and the Incubus for winter break.
4. The little Mom N' Pop Chinese Restaurant You Loved So Much
Granted, Annenberg Hall ain't half badsies and its Hogwarts regalness is something to appreciate... they just don't make orange chicken or fried umplings like good ol' Sichuan Wok.
5. Free Museums in DC ... Scratch that, DC in general
Cambrige is righteous and all, but WMATA is so fresh and so clean-clean in comparison.
6. Local Music Scene Back Home
This is a "I MISS MY BANDMATES" post in disguise.
7. Mommy
Because she loves me more than Thomas Dingman, Dean of Freshman, or Drew Faust.
8. That Stuffed Animal You Didn't Bring to School Because You Thought Someone Would Laugh
youre the only one who didn't bring one, hon.
9. Security
Harvard University Police send you a courteous little paranoia-inducing alert everytime someone in Cambridge gets mugged. Isn't that just so...pleasant?
10. Being Able to Sleep on the Floor
Sometimes I think this hardwood hasn't been cleaned since Howard Hughes lived here. Remember to bring a swiffer, darlin'.

xoxo,
You/Me

College, Babeh

Sorry for the egregious lack of posts lately, dearest. Harvard has been keeping me a busy, busy, gal. I've been scheming to deface good ol' John Harvard Miyavi-style but we'll see how it goes.

No outfit posts unfortunately, and I really wish I had the good ol' Canon E40 because there are some nice Sarto-style photos I could be taking. Overall, a swank campus despite the stuffy rep.

Went to a decidely hipster-bicycle-enthusiast-attractin'-ironically plaid-and-vegan-scene zine fair and realized perhaps DC is much cooler than I initially gave it credit (compared to Boston that is). Snagged a nice free music zine, attempted to chat up a kid who looked like my beloved Chris Chu, and got a nice little patch with a silkscreened 1968 French Student Revolution poster on it. We sit playing guitar on the Yard, writing poetry and sketching passersby. Oh college, you're exactly as they said you would be...

Slightly Risque Pie Porn

Be warned, my fresh fig pie may be a bit too sexy for your eyes.



There's this beautiful fig tree in our backyard that to some is the quintessence of mother nature's giving, fruitful womb. It shades our stone porch and gently spreads its branches to share itself with our grateful neighbors. Some days I just sit there and think, "Those leaves are kind of small... poor Adam, he may have been God's first crack at it but fig leaves? Really?"

I'm just kidding, I love that goddamn tree. So much so that for the past two years I've been making these pies when I can.

Fresh Fig Pie Recipe:

Dough: 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour, 1tsp sugar, 1tsp salt, 1 stick cold butter cut into teeny cubes, 5-6 tbs water. mix ingredients, add water as needed (but not too much), when dough starts to stick if you pinch it knead and roll it in a bowl, plop it onto a floured surface and separate into two balls - one for crust and one for lattice topping. (you may need more dough, in my family we dont approve of wimpy thin crusts).

Filling: fill a large size bowl about as big in diameter as your pie tin, with 4-5 cups peeled figs cut in half, the juice of half a lime or lemon, 7 tbsp sugar or splenda, 1 tbsp cornstarch, some cinnamon as you like, little bit of nutmeg to taste, toss gently with your hands (esp. if your figs are reaalllly ripe) and fill dough covered pie tin. use about a 1/5 or 1/4 stick butter to dot the top of the filling then cover with lattice and seal.
bake 30 to 40 minutes 'til lovely and bubbling.

Hello Inspirator

Leslie Holt, Leslie Holt.... I swear that I know that name from somewhere. In any case she's a really wonderful artist that I've just come across. As an artist myself I always choose a brightly colored narrative perspective and something in her work feels just as narrative but without being as literal. Art is nothing without a story to tell and Leslie's tiny paintings (often 6" x 6") really push something out of her as well as out of these standard (and sometimes stuffy) masterpieces. Thats really something. I am never troubled by whether or not something in art is new or innovative, only whether the idea itself is worth the expression.

It feels like an easy game of Where's Waldo, yes, but theres something to be said about the (oh God I can't believe I'm going to use this word) juxtaposition of the classic and definitely art pieces and the questionable artistic merit of the Sanrio product. But then you just shove those feelings aside and enjoy the way Hello Kitty brightens up everything... even La Guernica.

Her website.
"Leslie Holt’s recent work includes several series of paintings that weave inter-related experiences-- including her experiences growing up with a mentally ill family member, pop culture and famous works of art. Leslie’s work often displays an unsettling intersection of childhood and the adult world. Leslie’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States and has been featured at the Aqua Miami Art Fair and Scope Hamptons."

I wouldnt mind seeing this series with landry or keroppi too.

The Balance of Cool and Uncool: Staying Hip When You're Really Not

I was admiring Chanel Iman as many girls my age (which is also her age) do, and I shared her name with my older -and thusly less hip- brother Paul. He hadn't heard of her. But he had "seen of her"? One short amorous stop on Google Images later and he came upon this:

*image cropped to suit argument

-On the left, is the picture of elegance: Alien-like supermodel proportions, flawless skin, 100% H.A.U.T.
-On the right is what Paul declared to be one of his biggest pet peeves - beautiful people, who know they're beautiful "tryna to do that geek chic shit".

Paul and I relate to Ms. Chanel Iman on the level that the three of us happen to be half Black and half Asian, Blasian, if you will. But we're *not* supermodels. We have distinct and ever-so-slightly fond memories of growing up geeky and nerdy and fairly uncool. So it should come as no surprise that we marvel at how this:

has become this....

And it got me thinking about the ways in which "cool" is ever so elusive. As soon as something is trendy it withers in the opinion of coolmongerers everywhere. But as soon as a trend dies it then has the potential to come back again with 10 times more ferocity. Did Bill Gates up there know he and a whole league of geeks just like him would be lionized and plagiarized for their (lack of?) vision? How did being unfashionable become the waterbear of couture. When their dowdy plaids and button down shirts, unseemly tight jeans, ironic hair, and complete lack of style and polish became the epitome of poshness... what is the nerd to do?

Because no matter how trendy or on point he or she is, no matter how "in" the look becomes, the geek is still on the fringe. Not uncool enough to be cool - just the nerds they were meant to be. In my opinion its like white people adopting black culture and dress, it doesn't change anything for the other side. White people stay white, black people stay black. And the beauties and geeks, at the day's end are immutable.

Dalliance in New York

I did have a bit of fun in NYC this past weekend.
We toured the MoMA and argued the artistic merit of "Modern" (yet not Contemporary) artists:

of course, I had a mongoose mackerel of a time looking at my favorite works in the flesh... or canvas as it were.
For instance .. there was Miro...

...odilon redon.... rousseau...

...picasso.....klimt...

And as we came to the Rothkos I forced my brothers to split themselves Freud-style --- id, ego, superego and all that jazz...

goofed around, like a naked Matisse.

"oofed" around a bit too.

and one outfit pic to round it off:
theres no lioncoveringcamera so its not proper, but you know I had to: