In the 1960's, the West African country of Mali began enjoying it's restored independence after 70 years of French colonialism. To resurrect the musical traditions, the new government created a stack of so-called regional orchestras. These groups then suprisingly began integrating European & American instruments and electrified sounds, as well as popular Cuban salsa feels into the rich & historic repertoire of Malian traditional music. I guess they didn't want the kids to bypass their own culture and history just because there weren't any wild surf guitar solos in the tunes. I can also hear some strange musical links between this kinda stuff and 1950's Calypso music....

Download part of 'Sanjina' by Orchestre Regional de Kayes here.

Claude Monet, a refined dresser, gardener and well-bearded individual, really began to hit his stride artistically from about 42. Moving with his family to Giverny, Northern France in the Spring of 1883, he began planting and perfecting huge gardens which sprawled their property, delivering endless inspirato for his 'series' works. Inside their home, his first studio in Giverny (above, later as a sitting room) was quite a spot, with it's tiers of impressionist beauty edging at the distant ceiling (Check out another flick for height). The photo of himself on the desk is also a nice touch - even he must have appreciated that great beard....

There have been some stunning, oddly dark photographs emerging from Knickerbocker games at Madison Square Garden recently. The person behind the lense is Nathaniel S. Butler apparently - That's all I know...... This one reminds me of an ominous Caravaggio painting somehow.

Here's some B-Roll from getting the artwork together for the new Gallucci release '227' (as in State#2, Floor#2, ABC Studio#7). There are only yellow leads in use in that studio.... I later got blisters from unravling the mess - but it was well worth it.

Postcard of the month.... 'Eurostralia'

ABC Radio National is Australia's best source of Brain-Food. If you've got the guts to tune the radio in and then just leave it there, over a good length of time (though on occasion it can certainly be boring, snooty, academic and annoying) the amazing gems of knowlege, strangeness and obscurity will start to become apparent - even to the dimmest of us........... Dig Deeper Here.

Also, Download a podcast of some condensed good stuff here.

So, the next time you hear or see the words 'Bob Loseedo Wears A Speedo' you might have a little more clue what's happening..... Maybe? This awesome flick (by Patrick O'Dell) appears in a book that traces the quarter-century bloodlines of Independent Trucks, called 'Built To Grind - 25 Years of Hardcore Skateboarding'.

Next time you visit Canberra, make sure you clear 15 minutes in the schedule to go to The National Gallery to sit in front of Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles. There is even a comfy leather bench seat right in front of it, close enough to study the detail, and distant enough to the appreciate the size. It's also worth noting that when this painting was purchased by the Whitlam Government in 1973 for $1.3million (the highest amount ever paid for a modern painting at the time) it caused significant stirring as to why we'd spent a fortune on a big splashy mess by a barefoot drunk........ why indeed! Dig Deeper Here.

During the 1960's & 70's 'Pistol' Pete Maravich was a miracle ball handler and flawless shooter. His basketball training began as a small child with relentless hours of dribbling drills and shooting practice every single day. He still holds the highest scoring average in NCAA history of 44.2 ppg (had there been a 3-point line then, a mind-blowing 57 ppg). After 10 years as a prime-time NBA showman, an injury forced his retirment and began an unfortunate spiral into alcoholism. He then became a recluse, exploring yoga, Hinduism, macrobiotics, studying Catholic Trappist, Thomas Merton and even taking an interest in UFOlogy. In 1982, he became a Christian and began traveling the US sharing his new found faith. Sadly, exactly 21 years ago today, Maravich died suddenly during a church pickup game because of a previously undetected congenital heart defect. His final words, spoken less than a minute before he collapsed, were "I feel great." You've gotta admit, he really did it all.....

1 year ago today, this photograph was taken. About 6 months before this photograph was taken, I had the strange occurence of talking (very very briefly) to this person on the telephone. About 5 minutes after this photograph was taken, this person was assasinated........ Dig Deeper.

If you've ever enjoyed the strange jazz influenced guitar sounds infused into Wilco's last album Sky Blue Sky, you're already well aware of Nels Cline. In the mid-to-late 90's the Nels Cline Trio recorded 3 great (though yes, slightly obscure) albums - Ground, Chest & Sad. Together they represent a great period in Nels' guitar work. His very unique strumming has also been heard on some great projects over the years with Mike Watt, Thurston Moore and plenty more too....

Download part of the track 'Bath' from the 1996 album Chest.

Rick Froberg is an ugly man to look at up close, but a fine artist no doubt. He's also been party to 3 great bands over the last 20 years (Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu & Hot Snakes) and has shared with us some of the best and strangest lyrics this side of complete paranoia and insanity. While awaiting the full arrival of his fourth musical child, Obits - enjoy his inkings by Digging Deeper Here.

Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. not only had a great name, but was a James Bond-like CIA man - key in removing Mohammed Mossadeq from power in Iran in 1953. In Operation Ajax he firstly put 80% of the Iranian Press onto his payroll, writing daily stories calling Mossadeq a British agent, a Jew and a homosexual. Next, he hired a gang leader known as 'Shaban The Brainless' to run the streets with his mob, smashing shops, firing guns into Mosques and being generally violent around the place - all the while yelling "We love Communism and we love Mossadeq!" Not feeling this was sufficient, he then hired another mob to attack the first mob, putting the country into a state of total chaos. All of this and many more insane exploits (see CIA document: Overthrow of Premier Mossadeq Of Iran) set the scene for the coup d'état and re-installed the Shah - which eventually led to the Iranian Revolution. What a mess!

For those who struggle with The (ever-procrastinating) Avalanches regarding their constantly imminent album #2, here's a tune from 2001 called 'Slow Walking' that you may or may not have heard.

Pretty crap conselation prize for now - but Download it here.

In early 1983, this single flick 'Morning Mist, Rock Island Bend' by Peter Dombrovskis became incredibly influential over the Australian public - to the point where it may have decided the federal election that year in favour of Bob Hawke and the Labor Party. With the discussion about flooding the Franklin River in Tasmania raging and tipping toward building the proposed dam, this amazing time-lapse photograph appeared full-page in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age with the caption 'Could you vote for the party that would destroy this?'. I'm pretty sure I know which lever I would have pulled...... had I been alive.

Download a program from ABC Radio National fleshing out the whole story.

So, looking somewhat insane here - but next time you see the face of Professor Robert Reich, make sure you tune into the spiel blurbing from his wide open mouth (and enjoy the nasally tones!). Standing all of 4'11" in stature and having a brain the size of a large watermelon, he's truly one of the littlest big men in the world today. Dig Deeper Here, and Even Deeper Here.

During the late 90's and early 00's, wildly prolific musician & producer Bill Laswell was invited into the tape vaults of Miles Davis, Bob Marley & Carlos Santana to do what he dubbed 'Reconstruction & Mix Translation'. Basically remixing their (generally lesser known) work into new albums, re-imagining & blurring the sounds from one recording into another. The resulting albums, Panthalassa, Dreams of Freedom & Divine Light respectively, were subject to reviews at both ends of the scale (including the occassional accusation of creative blasphemy), but are nonetheless important, awesome listening & totally worthy of your ear-time.

Download a mashed together sample of the Santana 'Divine Light' album.

The Nov. 2008 issue of Wired Magazine has a great peice on Charlie Kaufman, writer of many weird and wonderful films including Eternal Sunshine, Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and also his latest and most intense mind-bender titled Synecdoche, New York, which is his directorial debut.

Check Out The WIRED Article Here.

Did you know that there are constantly ultra cheap collections of National Geographic Magazines being sold on ebay (well, in Australia atleast). On multiple ocassions I've paid $20-$30 for 10+ years worth - insane. But, be sure to put them somewhere very prominent on your bookshelf, or you'll never end up spending any time with them. Dig Deeper Here.

So if you've gotten your head around Coltrane's album 'A Love Supreme' but you're not sure where to head next (as these guys released 100 albums a year) 'Live At The Village Vanguard Again!' will definately push you to the next level of intensity without leaving you cold. This is the last album with his wife, Alice Coltrane playing some very dark piano alongside the rest of his expanded quartet.

Download a small part of the 20min 'My Favourite Things'.

If you want to see the 2007-08 NBA champion Celtics get the 08-09 season started against LeBron James and the Cavaliers check out the links below. For more awesome roundball downloads go to http://www.bballvideos.com/

1ST HALF 610MB
2ND HALF 700MB
1.3GB, MP4, 708x400, 1400Kbps, ripped by cmp66.

The BBC World Service (if you don't know) is a shortwave radio service, which means it can cover some very serious miles - hence the word 'World'. For instace, listening to the World Service was the only way the locals near Chernobyl knew there was a nuclear meltdown happening in '86 (the Soviet Govt. were quiet) and perhaps they should put some space between themselves and it! Check out the Documentary Downloads and Podcast.

Ever seen these photo-real, see-through, technically perfect, hand-crafted artworks that companies used for advertising in the 1970's & 80's? Ever thought they were lost in that era? I did. Turns out they're still at it, and it still blows my mind. Dig Deeper Here.