The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry

The Upsetter tells the fascinating story of Lee “Scratch” Perry, a visionary musician and artist from poor rural Jamaica who journeyed to the big city in the late 1950s with dreams of making it in the burgeoning record industry. Lee Perry burst on the scene with a brand new sound, inventing a genre of music that would come to be called reggae, while mentoring a young Bob Marley and gaining international recognition as a record producer and solo artist. The Upsetter charts 70 years in the life of Lee “Scratch” Perry in his own words through an exclusive interview given to American filmmakers Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough in Switzerland in 2006. It is equally a documentation of 30 years of Jamaican music and culture as it is a study of one of the most creative and inspiring human beings of all time. Go watch it! Screening dates are available here.

‘Save the Date’ Exhibition at Agnès b.

‘Save the Date’ Exhibition at Agnès b. @50 Howard street, New York, will include: Dan Colen, Ryan McGinley, Suitman, Rostarr, Harmony Korine and Jose Parla, this exhibition entitled ‘Save the Date’makes for a must see when the doors of Agnès b. open on April 1.

YouTube Remix Master Kutiman Released a Soulful New Song:”My Favorite Color”

Ophir Kutiel AKA:Kutiman, became an Internet sensation with a phenomenal YouTube video music project remix called Thru-You two years ago  .

The project comprised of seven tracks composed entirely of YouTube video footage that was sliced and diced over a 3-month period in Kutiman’s home studio.

Kutiman spent the next two years riding the well deserved success of Thru-You, performing live, and exhibiting his work in the likes of the Guggenheim.

Now Kutiman is back with a brand new track with a jazzier groove called ‘My Favorite Color’… Enjoy!

Cukui x Steve Caballero art show

Cukui teamed up with skate icon/artist Steve Caballero for a special art show at the brand’s flagship space in San Jose, California. The event featured various works of art ranging in size, mediums and content. Check out the shots at Cukui.

13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests

The first ever authorized DVD release of films by iconic artist Andy Warhol is finally available. The release, in conjunction with The Andy Warhol Museum, features a slew of prolific subjects including the likes of Nico, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, and Dennis Hopper amongst others. The DVD is comprised of 13 classic Warhol silent film portraits presented with newly commissioned soundtracks performed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips. Originally shot between 1964 and 1966 at Warhol’s Factory studio in New York City, this compilation is definitely a nice historical piece to own. Available now through Plexifilm for $30 USD while a more Limited Edition version is available for $250.

Kutiman Mixes YouTube “ThruYou”

If you haven’t heard of Kutiman yet you’re about a week late on the latest music sensation to be incubated on the Web. Ophir Kutiel, aka Kutiman, is an Israeli musician and producer that released a project titled Thru You on the Web seven days ago. It has since garnered over a million views and generated a buzz both on the blogsphere and on Twitter.

The project consists of seven music tracks/videos that are made exclusively from video material found on YouTube. Kutiman spent 3 months in his bedroom splicing and dicing over one hundred videos for samples of singers and instruments from guitars, pianos, drums and harps, to synthesizers, a bouzouki and even a cash register.

The resulting seven tracks which range in genres from R&B, Funk and Reggae, to Jungle, Afro and Jazz are quite impressive.

Apart from the revolutionary music creation aspect, this story also has an interesting social media angle. The entire snowball effect that resulted in over a million views, a crashed website and a fair bit of buzz, was initiated by three people associated with the project. They emailed (thanks MC Carolina) twenty people in total and it took a life of its own from there. From zero views to over a million in less than 7 days with no marketing dollars, blackhatting or SEO’ing involved. The team around Kutiman attribute much of this to word traveling across Twitter. If this is true, Kutiman may in fact be the first music star to be born on Twitter. Respect!

Thru You:

Elton John: “Benny and The Jets” – AWESOME!

Hey kids, shake it loose together
The spotlight’s hitting something
That’s been known to change the weather
We’ll kill the fatted calf tonight
So stick around
You’re gonna hear electric music
Solid walls of sound

Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they’re so spaced out, Benny and the Jets
Oh but they’re weird and they’re wonderful
Oh Benny she’s really keen
She’s got electric boots a mohair suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Benny and the Jets

Hey kids, plug into the faithless
Maybe they’re blinded
But Benny makes them ageless
We shall survive, let us take ourselves along
Where we fight our parents out in the streets
To find who’s right and who’s wrong

Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they’re so spaced out, Benny and the Jets
Oh but they’re weird and they’re wonderful
Oh Benny she’s really keen
She’s got electric boots a mohair suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Benny and the Jets

Britney Spears New Album “Circus” Debuts On imeem

Pop sensation-turned-tabloid punching bag Britney Spears is ready for her comeback. Britney has just released her new album Circus exclusively on imeem, where you can stream the album in its entirety for free (you’ll also be able to embed the album playlist anywhere you’d like). The downloadable/physical version of the album won’t be available until December 2nd, but you can currently pre-order it through imeem and a number of other stores.

The exclusive album launch marks a big win for Imeem, which also recently launched Lil Wayne’s latest mixtape, Dedication 3. The site seems to be in a heated battle for album launches with MySpace Music, which has also launched a number of high profile albums in the last few months, including Guns N’ Roses’ first album in 17 years, Beyonce, The Cure, Oasis, and a number of others. imeem’s Matt Graves says that one advantage imeem has over MySpace Music is its embeddable playlists, which makes it easier for albums to go viral as they get embedded on blogs across the web.

As with every major album release these days, Circus was leaked and has been available on a number of pirate sites since at least last week (some albums have been beaten to the punch by months, so it could be worse). These leaks do take some of the luster away from album launches, but there isn’t much the record labels can do beyond changing their distribution methods or bumping up release dates when there is a leak (which is what happened to Britney’s last album).

In other news the pop princess has also managed to lay claim to the Twitter account BritneySpears, in place of her old account therealbritney.

Via: TechCrunch

It Ain’t Fair

With Art Basel Miami just around the corner, this years event is shaping up to be one of the best yet and certainly a big comeback after the unofficial boycott of last years fair. Amongst the annual art fair, Aaron Bondaroff and Al Moran of O.H.W.O.W. will present their second exhibition at their O.H.W.O.W. space. Including curators Tim Barber, Kathy Grayson, Andreas Melas, Dan Nadel, Pablo de la Barra, Nicola Vassell and Terence Koh. IT AINT FAIR will include music from the likes of Rub n Tug and art from the likes of Tauba Auerbach, Stefan Bondell, Scott Campbell, Dan Colen, Patrick Griffin, Evan Gruzis, Ben Jones, Terence Koh, Nate Lowman, Ryan McGinley, Slava Mogutin, Takeshi Murata, Jason Nocito, Ara Peterson, Aurel Schmidt, Shinique Smith, Agathe Snow, Dash Snow, Francine Spiegel, Kon Trubkovich, Solange Umutoni amongst more. More info here.

The Beatles “Can’t Buy Me Love” 1000% Kubrick Set

Silly Thing continue to work on a wide range of projects that impress, this time attracting Medicom Toys to produce an astounding 1000% Kubrick collection. The subject is the most iconic rock band of all time the Beatles and has fittingly been given the “Can’t Buy Me Love” title. Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon all appear cloth and dagger providing a fun caricature version of the group.