How does the internet see you?

I stumbled over this fascinating installation, Personas, that was recently on display at the MIT Museum by the Sociable Media Group from the MIT Media Lab. It uses sophisticated natural language processing and the Internet to create a data portrait of one’s aggregated online identity. In short, Personas shows you how the Internet sees you.

Personas was created by Aaron Zinman, with help from Alex Dragulescu, Yannick Assogba and Judith Donath.

Finally made my debut and had my inaugural radio show today on KOOP radio.

The show is called “From the Other Side of the Mirror” and will be broadcast every Monday at 3pm. You can find KOOP radio at 91.7 Fm in the Austin area, or stream it online at www.koop.org

The idea behind the show is pretty simple. Each week the show will focus on a song, producer, label, musician(s), venue, etc. that has a major influence on music, their fingerprints are everywhere, but are forgotten or under most people’s radar. I will help listeners connect the musical dots. Like a documentary for your ears if you will. I will tell their story and showcase the various music they have created or been involved with.

Here’s my debut show, early warts an’ all.

Subject was the inimitable Brian Eno. Set list is below;

1. Virginia Plain – Roxy Music
2. Do the Stand – Roxy Music
3. Third Uncle – Eno
4. Sky Saw – Eno
5. Kings Lead Hat – Eno
6. Boy’s Keep Swinging – David Bowie
7. M386 – Eno

Very happy to announce that my new radio show will start in the new winter season on KOOP community radio.

The show is called “From the Other Side of the Mirror” and will be broadcast every Monday at 3pm. You can find KOOP radio at 91.7 Fm in the Austin area, or stream it online at www.koop.org

The idea behind the show is pretty simple. Each week the show will focus on a song, producer, label, musician(s), venue, etc. that has a major influence on music, their fingerprints are everywhere, but are forgotten or under most people’s radar. I will help listeners connect the musical dots. Like a documentary for your ears if you will. I will tell their story and showcase the various music they have created or been involved with.

The first show will showcase one Brian Eno, a man who’s fingerprints are all over some of the most imaginative music in the past 35 years. I hope you will join me.

But wait…there’s more. I’ll also be broadcasting the 1st Sunday of every month between 4 – 5.30pm hosting a show called Up on the Download.

Hope you can tune in one way or the other, and thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support. I know who you are….

The French INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel) has opened its jazz vaults, which includes about one hundred hours of video and audio archives, and from there enjoy a snippet of the duke ellington Orchestra at Salle Pleyel from november 20, 1958.

After some down time, I was honored to be invited back  to continue  The Tenuous Canadian Connection with the fabulous and laconic Doug G on his show, This Great White North.

This weeks Tenuous Canadian Connection had a regal theme.  Let me know what you think!

Previous Tenuous Canadian Connections can be heard here;

July 31 Show

July 24 Show

July 17 Show

Frank Zappa was always an original. Here he is playing a bicycle on The Steve Allen Show from 1963.

How about it Justin Timberlake?

Here’s Part 2 & 3 follows.

This recent Austin record fair did not disappoint.

I only made it there for 1 day, but joined by Rene “the rock” Carlin and Armando “let’s make a deal ” Rayo, we perused and scoured the racks of albums until our fingers bled….well almost.

I spent $47, procured 17 albums and 1, 12″ single, that I used to own, but alas, like so many others, been lost along the way. Here is what $47 buys you in the currency of vinyl.

The Johnny Cash Children’s Album

Griff & Lock – Eddie Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin Quintet

Battle Royal, the Duke meets the Count – Duke Ellington and Count Basie (no cover, have to take pix)

Sing Along with Basie – Joe Williams, Dave Lambert, Jon Hendriks, Annie Ross plus the Basie Band

Crisco presents Loretta Lynn’s Country Classics – Loretta Lynn

I Ain’t no Bad Girl – Memphis Minnie

Blues Before Sunrise – Ray Charles & Solomon Burke

For the Good times and I Won’t Mention it Again – Ray Price  (no pix, have to take it myself)

The Divine Sarah Vaughan Sings with Margie Anderson – Sarah Vaughan

The King of Zydeco – Clifton Chenier

Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle

The Greatest!!  – Count Basie plays, Joe Williams sings standards

Stay Loose – Jimmy Smith Sings Again

Rock This Joint – Big Joe Williams ( no pix, will have to take it)

Ooops! – The Swinging Sounds of Bill Doggett and his Combo ( no pix, will have to take it)

Liberation – Bunny Wailer

Johnny Cash & Jerry Lee Lewis sing Hank Williams

and the 12″ single….Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown – Unity

Hands up who last used a caravan?

Thought so. Came across this new concept from a German company.

In the camper market there is a move towards new design and personalized, tailor-made solutions. Travelers want a caravan that is made just for them.

One solution now available is offered by the “Mehrzeller” – a multicellular caravan. A buyer uses an online tool, and creates their unique design. The caravans are produced using the principles of “mass customization”: this allows both the individual wishes of the customer to be accommodated while producing the caravan with mass production methods.

Sounds interesting. Maybe the Airstream finally has a rival?

For those of you following the plot, I’ve been apprenticing at the local community radio station here in Austin, KOOP, with the goal of getting my own show.

Competition is tough, there are a lot of talented programmers out there, with great ideas for their shows. I was able to get into the studio today (with the very cool John Erler of Master Pancake Theater), and broadcast live a short, 30 minute version of my show, “From the Other Side of the Mirror”. The concept behind the show is explained at the beginning.

So please beg my indulgence, here is it, captured from the live stream. Let me know what you think, if you’d listen to something like this.

Thanks to everyone for your support. I know who you are.

A few people asked for the songs I played on the Stagger Lee demo show and exact titles, so here they are in play order:

1. Mississippi John Hurt – Stack O’Lee

2. Duke Ellington – Stack O’Lee Blues

3. Woody Guthrie – Stackolee

4. Fats Domino – Stagger Lee

5. Wilson Pickett – Stagger Lee

6. The Clash – Wrong em’ Boyo

7. The Trojans – Stack-A-Lee

Here’s the link to listen to the show