Art21

.

Trailer for the new season of Art in the Twenty-First Century on PBS. Watch it online or check your local listings.

(via Unbeige)

The Shrimp

.

Trailer for We'll Take Manhattan, a BBC portrayal of David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton. Could be awful, I don't know, but the subject matter definitely makes it worth a look.

h/t Sonya Westcott

The Cocktail Party that Could Be a Political Party

.

The full documentary on Glenn O'Brien's classic NYC public access show TV Party (1978–1982) is on YouTube. Of course it is. Another must-view if you ain't seen it.


Full first episode of the show here.

Social Adaptability

.

Dogs and polar bears are friends – from the TV show "Jailed Polar Bear." In Churchill, Manitoba ("the polar bear capital of the world"), bears who wander too close to town are kept in a safe holding area until Hudson Bay freezes over and they can be released back into the wild.

(Thanks to Jessica for the link)

Restless...Civilized...Challenging...Serene

.

The 1975 Mercury Cougar XR-7. Uncommonly luxurious.

(via T. Cole Rachel on Facebook)

What's My Line?

.

Yves Saint Laurent


Frank Lloyd Wright


Paul Newman


Jayne Mansfield

Michelle

.

Patty Pravo featuring Donyale Luna "Michelle" (1970)

Circle Game

.

Philip Glass "Geometry of Circles" (1979) for Sesame Street

(hat-tip to Christa H.)

Is This Local?

.

Just in the off-chance that no one has heard about this yet: "Portlandia" on IFC. Not always funny, but generally awkward and worth watching.

[see also]

Mütter Mart

.

I'm kind of intrigued by this Discovery Channel show "Oddities," about the various goings-on, inventory, and clients of Obscura Antiques & Oddities, a shop in the East Village. In this clip, former mortician turned fashion designer Laura Flook (pictured below on an embalming table she also found at Obscura) shops for vintage corsets.


More on "Oddities" here.

[via Refinery 29]

Maria Callas & Mick Jagger

.

In honor of Patti Smith (today is notable for her in that it was Robert Mapplethorpe's birthday, and also the day her husband, Fred Sonic Smith, died), The Stranger posted this video of her appearance on an early-'80s show I had completely forgotten about, Kids Are People Too.

1. I remain in total awe of Patti Smith.

2. Not to bring the room down or anything, but damn, mainstream society has become so conservative that with a few notable exceptions, it seems almost inconceivable that a kids' show today would have Patti Smith as a guest.

Thunder Muscle

.


Yes
...
Update: No.

Emmet Otter

As long as it's small animal day on Pacific Standard, this is worth a mention: Acquarium Drunkard has posted the entire soundtrack and a funny outtakes video from Jim Henson's 1977 TV special Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas. It is pure magic. A small sample: Paul Williams Instrumental Theme mp3

Visit Acquarium Drunkard for much more.
.

Miller Time

.

[ via SwissMiss ]

Image of the Day

.
Most of these adaptations of Shepard Fairey's Obama poster are beyond lame, but I am powerless to resist this one of Clay Davis.

Sense and Sensibility

.
Carine Roitfeld photographed by Hedi Slimane.
Photo courtesy of New York magazine.

There are few people in the world whose personal flavor I admire (or career I envy) more than that of Carine Roitfeld, French Vogue's Editor-in-Chief. Roitfeld is a former stylist and muse to Tom Ford during his time at Gucci, and her sensibility informs a much edgier and better-designed version of the fashion rag presided over by her American counterpart, Anna Wintour (gleefully skewered by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada). Being an unabashed fan of both her substance and style, I am looking forward to seeing Roitfeld featured in the upcoming installment of CNN's Revealed, which follows her during the recent fashion weeks in New York and Paris. Here's a quick preview:



The full show premieres this Wednesday, March 18 at 4:30 a.m. EDT (with a first encore presentation the same day at 1:30 p.m. EDT). Be sure to tune in to what promises to be a fascinating and entertaining profile. Like just about everything she does, it seems, it's a must-see.

Carine at 19, looking like a California girl. Courtesy lefashion and Teen Vogue. You can check out more current photos at jakandjil.com, here.

TV Party

My old buddy Mike Sacks has a new blog wherein he posts photographs of the television, proving time and again that a picture is worth a thousand words.


Check it out at mikesacks.com, and while you're there, have a look at some of his humorous and informative writing for publications such as Vanity Fair, GQ, Esquire, McSweeney's, and The New Yorker.

Still Nickle Plated but My Mind Obliterated from the Thai

.
Nonesuch Records has released a collection of songs featured on HBO's The Wire, including the Sharpshooters/Fourfifths track "Analyze." I mention this because The Wire may certifiably be the best show in the history of television, and because "Analyze" originally appeared on a record released by Conception, the label I used to own with the Sharpshooters (Mr. Supreme and Sureshot). We had no shortage of tension here and there and all went our separate ways—I moved to New York in the summer of 1999—but I want to congratulate those involved, and I wish everyone the very best. It's not a big deal to be on a compilation, but to me it's a big deal to be on The Wire compilation.

I remember being kind of annoyed that after we recorded that song, the acapella on my copy of OC's "Time's Up" 12" pretty much had a hole in front of the word "Analyze"—the part that got scratched for the hook. Now, I wouldn't give it up for...well, let's just say I'm glad to have the damaged copy.

It seems like a million years ago but I remember Sharpshooters were signed to Instinct/Shadow Records at the time, and the label didn't want to release vinyl. We had lunch with one of the label owners at the Five-Spot and worked it out so we could put the vinyl out on our label, Conception. Before the real record came out, we pressed up 200 white label copies to bring to San Francisco for the Gavin. We stayed at Beni B's apartment and Jake, Shane, Danny, Shelli and I all passed out copies at various parties. It was dope to be putting out our first record together and promoting it.

After that we signed to Sub Pop and put out a bunch more records, which I am thankful for, even though it turned out that they were in turmoil and not really in the position to distribute hip-hop records too well at that point. Everyone we worked with there was great, especially Kerri, Lisa, Bob the News Guy, Megan, Jonathan, Eric—and Pat Riley and Kris Chen at ADA. The success we had was also largely due to the promotional efforts of Spyridon Nicon (proprietor of Spin's Barber Shop in Wallingford). I think we maybe put a few too many records out too quickly and could have benefited from retaining our own guerrilla tactics. Still, I look back now and think it was all good. It's all one big learning experience. (As a side note, it's great to see Sub Pop back on top again—it might be the best record label out there right now.)

Most of the Conception tracks have stood the test of time really well. Business-wise, I think each of us would probably have done some things differently, but I learned a ton from the experience, and I have immense respect for my old business partners and the strengths they brought to the table. I can say that every job I've done since then has been informed at least in part by my experience running a record label (yes, even working for Martha). It was an interesting time and I'm glad to have the records and knowledge to show for it.

Sharpshooters f/ Fourfifths Analyze MP3

Fourfifths Questions MP3
Unreleased/unmastered, produced by Jake One

The Wire soundtrack ...and All the Pieces Matter on Nonesuch Records