SteveCastellano.com

I was recently asked to lift Deee-Lite(sic)’s ‘90 dance club hit Groove is in the Heart (long story) and shortly thereafter to swallow the factoid that the “I” sample under the line “I couldn’t ask for another” was from the Green Acres theme song. Unable to substantiate this through text-based searches, I discounted this claim as a barge of lard. But then, through a toxic combination of curiosity and abject boredom, I decided to try and dig up the original music, and to my mild surprise (as good as it gets, sorry) I discovered that this was, in fact, the case – the sample is pitched down a little (full tone? can’t be arsed to check). So, for the benefit of the internet, I hereby declare as FACT: Eva Gabor is a backup singer on Groove is in the Heart. So, that just goes to show… something. Who cares, really. Sample below. Feel free to go and start your own dance-funk cover band. In another city.

eva-i.wav

I have no sympathy for Money Mart and their ilk, so I quite enjoyed this recent Star article and the Google Ad Fail that followed (click for full size image).

5. National holidays marred by injuries resulting from celebratory gunfire

4. Police academy successfully besieged by terrorists

3. The druglords who convinced your police force to leave town are routed by your army, whose troops also sell drugs

2. Your president appears at public events with a parrot on his shoulder

1. Your flag has an automatic weapon on it

If offered, do not accept a position writing for Google.

During a subsequent presentation, [Marissa Mayer, VP  of Search Product and User Experience at Google]  is unimpressed by  possible language for a Google Health page that would allow users to share medical information.

“I don’t like the words ‘invite’ and ‘view,’” she says. “Those two words are recreational. It feels too informal and lighthearted.”

“We used the word ‘invite’ because it’s an action word, so users know they have to do something,” a young product manager responds.

Ms. Mayer rolls her eyes. “It’s not a party,” she says.

Putting a Bolder Face on Google, New York Times, February 28 2009

I got it into my head that I wanted to dig up an old MIDI file that I had created back in the Atari days, for reasons that escape me now. After deciding that hooking up the Atari itself could only lead to disappointment, I tracked down a freeware Windows app called Gemulator, dusted off the original Atari ST diskette, jammed it into a Toshiba USB floppy drive that almost got thrown out in November when we were cleaning out the spare room, connected said floppy drive to an Intel MacBook running XP via Parallels, installed and launched Gemulator, and, as the French say, viola. Of the music I heard when I successfully imported the original Notator files into Logic, I can only say “not so good.” But the exercise itself just goes to show… something, I guess.

In the infinite immutable wisdom of millenia upon millenia the human body decided that an appropriate response to hostile viral takeover is to clog all available breathing passages with goo. It’s a good thing buildings don’t evolve, because if they did whenever there was a fire they’d automatically lock all the exits and cut the power. Happy birthday and thanks for nothing Darwin, you bearded freak.

Mike Silverman, a.k.a. That 1 Guy, croaked, slapped, stomped, bowed, looped, laughed and howled his way through a bafflingly under-attended set at the Rivoli last night. Accompanying himself on the Magic Pipe – an electrified 2-string proto-bass cyborg made of articulated piping, sample and loop triggers and a valve that spews smoke when things get really exciting – as well as musical saw and talking boot, T1G treated the somewhat subdued audience to his unique outsider-funk stream-of-consciousness poetry, opening with some remarkably contrabass-like arco work that exploded into the Beefheart/Zappa/Waitsenescent “Weasel Pot Pie”, and continuing on a raucous foot-stomping journey through favourites from his CDs Songs in the Key of Beotch and The Moon is Disgusting and closing with his iconic breakout single “One.” Aside from his obvious rhythmic, musical and lyrical talents, T1G manages to merge digital with electro-acoustic without letting anyone get hung up on the technology. While many contemporary performers wrap themselves in their own loops as if weaving incantations, Silverman’s show is a more organic construction – one tends to focus more on his wide-eyed expressions and the blur of his hands while the arrangements seem to build of their own accord, eventually engulfing the tunes unexpectedly as if in an aural backdraft. It’s a sure sign of a soul-deadening recession or a truly random universe (maybe both) when a show this polished and energetic doesn’t even garner an encore. But a remarkably polite and grateful post-show T1G signed CDs with a toothy grin, already planning to return later this summer.

I have spent so much time staring at Achewood over the past few weeks that I have given myself some kind of stress injury.

got comped to the artist’s gala opening of the new AGO tonight. a+++ would visit again. you’re probably not supposed to take pictures of the art.