Art: ...and now to something completely different: Wisdom!

Here you'll find also an interesting Interview with creator Bill Watterson for Cleveland.com . It's the first interview since '89. I like:

"Because your work touched so many people, fans feel a connection to you, like they know you. They want more of your work, more Calvin, another strip, anything. It really is a sort of rock star/fan relationship. Because of your aversion to attention, how do you deal with that even today? And how do you deal with knowing that it's going to follow you for the rest of your days?

Ah, the life of a newspaper cartoonist -- how I miss the groupies, drugs and trashed hotel rooms!

But since my "rock star" days, the public attention has faded a lot. In Pop Culture Time, the 1990s were eons ago. There are occasional flare-ups of weirdness, but mostly I just go about my quiet life and do my best to ignore the rest. I'm proud of the strip, enormously grateful for its success, and truly flattered that people still read it, but I wrote "Calvin and Hobbes" in my 30s, and I'm many miles from there.

How do you want people to remember that 6-year-old and his tiger?

I vote for "Calvin and Hobbes, Eighth Wonder of the World."

The mighty CALVIN AND HOBBES. or going by his words: "I vote for Calvin and Hobbes, 8th wonder of the world!" Nuff said!

Sound:Art: A childhood dream

If the record sound like this looks it's bought. Done deal! I guess I could make pretty good use of that island and this where I should have lived with 7 or 8 years. Thuringian woods were awesome too though.

Sound:Art: Sublime - Are you a bad fish too?

If you have simply everything, you couldn't be happier, and flush it all down the drain and yourself with it, does that follow any logic?

The story of Bradley Nowell adds a whole different intensity to the music of Sublime, the sunny californian lifestyle ... and it's downside.

Sublime were different, took a totally different turn on the mixture of punk and reggae and Bradley wrote songs which definitely took you somewhere away from where you are right now, and even more so considering his person and the story behind. It's a tragic story. The story of the genius true musician in the league with others who do not need to be mentioned here, but shared his destiny. He was real, talented, so committed to his music, that he sucked at basically everything else, especially life itself. An outstanding fragile guy, over-challenged and overwhelmed by life and who finally gave in to the final temptation. It seems that when you're genius at a certain thing, you're a total fail at another one. The greater, the worse.

His story and the story of his band are hard to believe. As described by his friends and family he was intelligent and understood the danger to nothing less than his life by the drug he was dealing with. This is sadly well described by himself in the song 'Pool Shark', in which he faces his addition and paints a dark picture for himself:

"Lyin' in my plastic bed

thinkin' how things weren't so cool to me

my baby likes to shoot pool

I like lyin' naked in my bedroom

tying on the dinosaur tonight

it used to be so cool to...

But now i've got the needle

and i can shake but i can't breathe

i take it away

but i want more, and more

one day i'm gonna lose the war"

Take the time and watch this documentary from the series 'VH1 -Behind the music' and find out more behind the band Sublime, what made them who they were and what evantually killed them.










Rest in peace, Bradley Nowell, thank you for the music!

Sound: Dinosaur Farmers

Has the awesomeness of Dinosaur Jr's new record FARM been mentioned? A true classic. Old men can be cool! ...and still shreddin'!

Dinosaur Jr. - OVER IT

Sound: John Frusciante

Related to the news about the Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Frusciante parting ways, I became curious about his personal musical activities. It's always important to look further and check backgrounds and details. I came across one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time. The video, shot at John's house, provides the perfect pictures.

Enjoy - The Past Recedes

John Frusciante - The Past Recedes from MIKE PISCITELLI on Vimeo.

If this is what he need's to focus on it's worth to go his own way apart from RHCP (as much as I love this band and their records). Speaking for myself, I'm off to the record store to get some records. Visit his myspace for a first taste and then follow me ;-)

Related to this you should also check out Mike Piscitelli. He's shot the video and is a photgrapher and video artist creating outstanding works in my eyes. Also the picture above is from him and on his page there are many more to see. Have a look (also on his blog)!

Sound:Art:Idea: Lives Of The Artists

I can only do my best, if I do what I can do best. I do best the things I believe in. Those things that make my heart beat faster, the things that don't let me sleep, but progress- first in mind, then setting plan to action. Follow the path that's been set and laid out in your heart, soul and mind. Only through this you'll be able to walk your own way and keep standing tall. Do not back down!



These were the thoughts that we're flushing through my head while watching "Live Of The Artists" by Relentless. In beautiful and breathtaking pictures it follows the lives of surfers, snowboarders and musicians, all artists in their own way, but most importantly: ON THEIR OWN TERMS! Featured are the snowboarder Xavier de le Rue in Greenland, the surfers Tom Lowe, Fergal Smith and Mickey Smith in Teahupoo, Tahiti and British punk band Gallows touring the U.S.



The intro sets the tone for the next 75 minutes and extracts the essence in the following words, as displayed in the picture:

'To be a poet, to be an artist, meant more than writing or painting or singing; it meant having a vision and courage to see that vision through, despite any opposition.

What didn't kill you made you stronger and if you had what it took you were rare and wonderous, and if you didn't it couldn't be faked'

- Danny Sugerman

"Live Of The Artists" also reminds and illustrates that this uncompromising way of life unites those who live for their art whether they surf,snowboard, paint, sing, act, build, play music or do whatever makes them free.
There's just nothing to prove, nothing to pretend, nobody to please...just following that one path and get a point across!

Enjoy this ode to freedom and art wrapped in stunning pictures and get blown (away) by the feeling! A huge Thank You! to RELENTLESS for making this movie available for free.

If there's just one more person turning to follow his or her beliefs the efforts creating this movie, writing those songs, surfing those waves and maybe even writing these lines made complete sense and a positive effect on the bigger picture.

Sound: Get on the road!! BOOKER T. JONES delivers the soundtrack

What can I do, I am a rolling stone and Booker T. Jones made me feel it more than ever. The new record 'Potato Hole' is the perfect soundtrack for the road, long roads, beautiful landscapes passing by, from dusk till dawn.

Released on the great ANTI- label he and the Drive-By Truckers celebrate instrumental highway hymns with great sleazy southern rock, thick and dirty guitar riffs and a smooth but strong Hammond B-3 on top of it. It rolls and rolls towards sunset I can do nothing but follow.

Booker T. Jones, always rather underground than mainstream released a record which deserves a lot of attention and could ease a lot of people's minds. Of course, the critics love it (and they're right):


“Booker T. Jones sounds more pithy and forceful than ever on “Potato Hole”…Mr. Jones still jabs terse, unhurried melodies that sound as if he knows the lyrics but would never tell. Where the M.G.’s suavely underplayed their aggression, the rockers’ multiple-guitar attack, with distortion and feedback, gives the music teeth.” – Jon Pareles. New York Times

“A bad ass set of MG’s-style instrumentals. Jones’ sweet, thick Hammond B-3 riffs are spiked with Truckers’ roughneck (and surprisingly funky) Southern rock and some exceptional lyrical, focused Young guitar leads. The originals feel like old standards. But the cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya” is a zinger: It’s Southern race-mixing party music come full circle.” – Rolling Stone

Definitely check his homepage for more info, let's hope some shows in Europe in the near future and enjoy this for a first teaser: