photo from SharperImage.com

For a mere $600, you can own beamz (”beamz,” as in laser beams…but with a “z”! Is that how all the kids spell it nowadays?), which does for the theremin what lawn jams did for funk music. I just spotted this on Gizmodo, which, posts the video demo and accurately describes it as “amazingly asstupid.”

All I gotta say is–two middle-aged men exchange hi-fives within the first 5 seconds! Is it so asstupid, it’s asstastic? Or just asstupid? How ’bout you watch it and judge for yourself.

beamz hits stores April 15, 2008.

As reported by: FiveEight.net

MySpace is apparently in talks with labels to launch a free (and ad-funded) music offering. Those near-legendary “people familiar with the matter” say talks have taken place between the social networking site and all four of the major labels. The service, which boasts 110M users, has attempted to sell downloads before (after striking a deal with Snocap). The decision would see News Corp join a number of other players who are slowly attempting to encroach on Apple’s dominance of the digital download market place. However, the ad-funded model is still very much unproven - with both SpiralFrog and Qtrax struggling to either achieve traction or be (in the latter’s case) taken seriously. Is MySpace simply playing catch-up here? Can it ever really return to its pioneering heyday by utilising as-yet-unproven business models?

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Having only been around for 10 months now, you could say that Trash Menagerie is a bit of an underdog as compared to the mainstream giant, RollingStone. Nevertheless, it feels good to know that Simon DeLacroix, known to most as “The Toxic Avenger,” was well on our radar long before Rolling Stone recognized him for his talent. We’re on the forefront as tastemakers, discovering new music that is defining the current moment.

Click the link for past features of The Toxic Avenger on Trash Menagerie, and the Ludo Escrime – Le Coq Sportif site for some sickkk graphics and an instrumental sample of a Toxic track!! Choose either Le Camp Rouge or Le Camp Vert to hear music. We’re very happy for our friend! Congratulations Simon!!!!

Photo Credit: Monroe Gallery, 1991

Wired just ran a fantastic article from former Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne, regarding his thoughts on the present state of the music industry. Last SXSW, he gave a speech, reported by Billboard, (below) that I clipped and archived. I’ve been following his insights and sensibilities since that time, so I was extremely eager to read and share his further thoughts on the current state of things. Wired is also running a great discussion between Byrne and Thom Yorke, delving in even further.
David Byrne and Thom Yorke on the Real Value of Music.

Below is an excerpt from Byrne’s Wired article
Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists and Megastars

What is music?
First, a definition of terms. What is it we’re talking about here? What exactly is being bought and sold? In the past, music was something you heard and experienced — it was as much a social event as a purely musical one. Before recording technology existed, you could not separate music from its social context. Epic songs and ballads, troubadours, courtly entertainments, church music, shamanic chants, pub sing-alongs, ceremonial music, military music, dance music — it was pretty much all tied to specific social functions. It was communal and often utilitarian. You couldn’t take it home, copy it, sell it as a commodity (except as sheet music, but that’s not music), or even hear it again. Music was an experience, intimately married to your life. You could pay to hear music, but after you did, it was over, gone — a memory.

Technology changed all that in the 20th century. Music — or its recorded artifact, at least — became a product, a thing that could be bought, sold, traded, and replayed endlessly in any context. This upended the economics of music, but our human instincts remained intact. I spend plenty of time with buds in my ears listening to recorded music, but I still get out to stand in a crowd with an audience. I sing to myself, and, yes, I play an instrument (not always well).

We’ll always want to use music as part of our social fabric: to congregate at concerts and in bars, even if the sound sucks; to pass music from hand to hand (or via the Internet) as a form of social currency; to build temples where only “our (more…)

More comics from Venla Kivilahti, 32-year-old Finnish designer turned cartoon diva, whose female-friendly comics were featured on TM last month.

Enjoy !
xx

By day Venla Kivilahti, 32-year-old Finnish native, is a BAFTA-nominated senior designer who lives and works in the heart of London, based at a company called Reading Room Ltd, where she creates some of the hottest games, websites, designs and cool stuff that I wouldn’t even know how to spell without a dictionary.

However, by night, Venla turns her well-honed skills to the world of cartoons, and with her pen poised, she directs the flashlight at the turbulent, haphazard world of dating — from a female perspective of course. I’m not a comic geek so I won’t tell you which cartoons her work is similar to or pays homage to or anything like that. What I will say is that they’re cheeky, very cute, honest and funny. Like Venla herself, I hasten to add.

I first met Venla in 2000, when we became part of the same after-works drinks crowd that flocked around Brighton Media Centre on Middle Street, was immediately impressed with her bobbed bright red hair, cool yellow bike and penchant for heavy metal. Venla’s hugely talented, so when she moved to London, it came as no surprise. Neither has the recognition her work has been receiving as of late. Her recent professional awards include a BAFTA nomination for Best Interactive website, New Statesman Awards for Best Accessible Design, Best Arts, Culture and Heritage Project in Charity awards, Highly Commended in Best Educational Initiative in Museum and Heritage Awards, BBC site of the day and Yahooligans site of the week.

Venla’s latest venture involves moving to Sydney, surfing with sharks, and deriving some inspiration from the more chilled out Aussie way of life. She promises to throw a few more comics our way once on board ship, which I will duly not drop in the sea — more to come later.

Throne of Blood and Mas are having their Moustaches Wild bash this Saturday in NYC, check it out . .

From the Mas Crew:

Moutaches Wild is just around the corner, and we’ve got the fever!
We watched Smokey & The Bandit, Magnum P.I. reruns, (we are still waiting for Tom Selleck to accept our myspace friend request, ahem, Tom, if you’re reading this, hop to it!) we also watched Rollie Fingers pitch a coupla’ no hitters, and have been listening to Village People Records way more than we usually do.

We did some interesting research too . . . Apparently, there are numerous, humorous, derogatory or slang terms for the moustache, mostly reflecting its resemblance to a variety of animals, its tendency to retain food and drink, its supposed magical powers, and its supposed aid in sexual activity. EG - “pushbroom”, “soupstrainer”, “cookieduster”, “nose neighbor”, “flavor saver”, “mouth brow”.

We don’t have ’staches of our own, and were feeling a bit left out, and we imagined, a lot of other people probably felt the same way. So, we felt it was our responsibility to do something about that.

So, with help from our friend Joe at Hatchback Studio’s we’re giving everyone the chance to Go ’stache crazy!

And it’s so easy! Upload a pic and pin a ’stache on yourself, your friends , your pets, your car, your bike, it’s your call! Warning, we’ve been doing it, it gets a bit addicting.

Check it out for yourself - tada! Its the Moustaches Wild Gallery!

I can remember being at a Electronic music festival in the mid 90’s and the National Guard, complete with a helicopter raided the camp grounds. How reminiscent!

The festival is the first time the force has used the technology
A remote control “spy helicopter” has been helping police patrol a major music festival.

Staffordshire Police have been using the CCTV drone for the first time at the V Festival site this weekend.

Officers said the remote controlled plane helped capture offenders at the festival site at Weston Park, on the border of Staffordshire and Shropshire.

By Sunday police had arrested 62 people in total at the festival and had cautioned more than 100.

Officers said 32 of those arrested had been found possessing drugs.

The remote control drone was being used particularly in the festival’s car park to catch criminals attempting to break into vehicles.

‘Caught on camera’

Police said they expected to use the technology at future big events.

Ch Insp Pete Owen said: “We are delighted to be trialling the drone.

“It will work in addition to the CCTV that we will monitor on site throughout the festival.

V Festival
The festival is expected to attract about 90,000 people

“Our message to criminals is that we will be watching you and you will be arrested if you are caught on camera.”

People travelling to the festival on Friday faced traffic delays of hours because of motorway congestion.

Highways Agency officials were forced to close a slip road on the M6 to help ease the traffic problems.

The two-day festival has attracted about 90,000 people to the park.
Vfest Official Site
More BBC Vfest Coverage

As Reported By The BBC