Publisher's Clearing House

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Last night I pulled my first all-nighter in the new office. I haven't really talked much about the new office. The new office is in an old building on Capitol Hill in beautiful Seattle WA. Long ago the building housed a car dealership. The showroom was on the ground floor and there was a big elevator that brought cars down from the floors above. The elevator is gone now and the former elevator shaft has become Pacific Standard HQ. It doesn't have any external windows but there are some nice big ones that look into the hallway and the space itself is all cement and wood and I like it. We'll take some pictures when it's a little more done.

So anyway, that was the first time I've spent the whole night in here. It was fine, no big whoop. Of course it's always better when things are not so last-minute, but I liked what I was working on so it's okay. (Can't talk about it though, it's a secret.) I'm also kind of brain-dead, I haven't showered since before the Kentucky Derby, and I feel like crap. So for today's post, just a quick clearing house of things I've been meaning to mention.

The GZA, The RZA, and Bill Murray. Still from Coffee & Cigarettes, 2003, Directed by Jim Jarmusch

1. Wax Poetics has a good interview up right now with the GZA (aka the Genius, of the Wu-Tang Clan) on the making of Liquid Swords, his seminal first solo album. (Yes, I invoked "seminal." It happens occasionally.) To quote Larry Mizell from a recent post at Raindrop Hustla, "All GZA’s lines end neatly, cleanly. They fall in blocks, like Tetris. They fit tight and are descriptive. He makes it easier than it is, and has sort of a formal way of announcing himself, that GZA." Here's one of my favorite cuts from Liquid Swords wherein GZA stands out among stand-outs:

GZA/Genius 4th Chamber mp3 [buy it]


2. Another cool video from Nick Knight and Ruth Hogben at SHOWstudio.

Anja Rubik in Gareth Pugh. Still from Black/White, 2009
by Nick Knight & Ruth Hogben

This one features an array of avant-garde monochromatic clothing and accessories. Kind of better if you mute it and just listen to "4th Chamber" though.


3. The Fly Girlz are a group of teenage girls from Brownsville, Brooklyn, which is kind of a rough spot. They just released a really weird album produced by Nathan Zebrablood of the group Excepter – some real dusted-out '83 type stuff. Here are a couple samples:
The Fly Girlz Love Hurtz [excerpt] mp3
The Fly Girlz Tired [excerpt] mp3
And for reference:
Excepter The Fire and the Wood mp3
Buy it all at Wall of Sound or Other Music depending on your locale.

Joey Bates Untitled, 2008. Graphite and goauche with cut paper

4. I like this. Joey Bates is currently showing at Caffé Fiore, 224 West Galer Street, Seattle.

5. I can't tell you what a luxury it is to have good Mexican food again – I think we ate at Rancho Bravo three times last week (one block from the office = dangerous).

So… Happy Cinco de Mayo. Time for a tamale and a nap
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