2008 . pix el a tion
...we are all part of the pixel nation

BLK w/ BEAR [loops + turntables + prepared vinyl] . Arthur Loves Plastic [audio/video] . VJ Poppins [live video mix] . *V*I*R*G*O* + Charles Cohen [audio] . Building Castles Out of Matchsticks : Anne Sulikowski [audio/video] . Nick Lopata [video] . Doug Poplin [cello + effects] . PD Sexton [bass + laptop + effects] . Dan Vera [words] . RH Bear [bass + effects] . Mansard [audio] . Long Division with Remainders [audio] . Helen Watson [audio] . Joseph Dress [tech] . Melissa Mullins [video tech] ... additional contributors and performers TBA

Warehouse . 1021 7th Street NW . Washington DC USA
Saturday 07 June 2008

8:00 pm

posted by Bev  # 10:06 PM | Perma Link
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I will be spinning between live band sets at the Crazy Quilt Festival 2008 in Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt MD Greenbelt, Maryland on April 19th between 12:50 pm and 6:50 pm. Please stop by!
posted by Bev  # 10:52 PM | Perma Link
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I just finished Brief Episodes of Joy. It will be available soon on iTunes, but you can get the CD at CDBaby and Amazon. The CD features a bonus remix of a Techno Squirrels track and brightly-coloured packaging.

Here is the CD release party info:

ALP CD Release Party: Brief Episodes of Joy
Saturday, April 5, 2008
7:30 until 9:00pm
Sligo Urban Community Center
500 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

The event is FREE. There is no booze allowed (this is the nanny state of Montgomery county after all) but I will make this up to you at the after-party. I have a few videos of tracks off the cd up at my YouTube channel.
posted by Bev  # 7:53 PM | Perma Link
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Recently one of my online vendors switched business models which forced me to move my back-catalog to another service. Fortunately an Amazon company called CreateSpace has come along with the ability to fulfill CD orders on-demand. I also have the option of making them available at Amazon.com, which is a godsend if you want to be on the radar of social networking sites and Pandora, etc.

I noticed that the CD Pursuit of Happiness (which won the 2006 Washington Area Music Award for electronica album of the year and is sold on CDBaby and iTunes without a problem) seemed to be stuck in purgatory with an "in process" designation. When I sent an e-mail to follow up I received this response:

Thank you for your inquiry. It appears that your cover art goes beyond what Amazon is willing to accept. Amazon guidelines are as follows:

"Pornography. Pornography; X-rated movies; home porn; hard-core material, including magazines, that depict graphic sexual acts; amateur porn; soiled undergarments; sexual aid devices; and "adult-only" novelty items that are primarily sold through adult-only novelty stores and erotic boutiques are not permitted. Unrated erotic videos and DVDs and properly censored erotic artwork and magazines of the type you'd find at a typical bookstore are permitted. Nudity, graphic titles, and descriptions must be sufficiently concealed with censor strips on all items containing such content."

We ask that you please correct your cover art and re-upload it. Once you have done this, please let us know and we will continue to process your title. Thank you.

I have no problem with a private company having editorial guidelines, but isn't it a little odd for Amazon to take this position when they use the first amendment as an excuse in defending the sale of cockfighting publications? (read about Amazon's response to the Human Society's recent lawsuit here).

Odder still, is the fact that the digital version displays the cover art in all its glory (probably not safe for the typical work environment). Amazon mp3 rocks! But if you want the physical (so to speak) CD, CDBaby has it here.

UPDATE: Wal-Mart is also selling Pursuit of Happiness. With the cover. This is in spite of their established practice of censoring albums "with cover art or lyrics deemed overtly sexual or dealing with topics such as abortion, homosexuality or Satanism."
posted by Bev  # 9:37 PM | Perma Link
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Beneath the Watchful Eyes won the Washington Area Music Award for Electronica Album of the Year on Sunday. You can see who else won here.

You can buy it on iTunes, Amazon.com, and CDBaby.
posted by Bev  # 7:07 PM | Perma Link
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This morning I received an e-mail from a friend informing me Arthur Loves Plastic's myspace profile was down. Sure enough, the pre-Murdoch myspace page I've had since 2005, with over a thousand friends, has been deleted. You can see how it looked in google's cache back on January 21 here.

I wrote myspace to find out why my profile has been deleted, and received this canned response:

If your question pertains to why your account/profile was cancelled by MySpace or why content was deleted, please refer to our Terms of Service for more detailed explanations. Reasons could include, but are not limited to inapproproate [sic] images, racial content, excessive violence, copyright infringement of any kind, underage users, etc.

MySpace is a community where free expression is encouraged. However, we also have a responsibility to all of our users to ensure everyone abides by our Terms of Service.

If this does not address your issue completely, please press "Reply" and provide any additional information you feel is relevant. Please do not alter the subject as it will be considered a new inquiry.

Speculation on why this may have happened is welcome! My theory is that my profile was too tasteful -- perhaps more glitter bears and a busier background would have saved me. I am tempted to not even bother putting another page up because myspace is SO last year anyways.

UPDATE: As of the morning of January 25, my profile has been restored. Thanks Tom!
posted by Bev  # 10:52 PM | Perma Link
2 comments

An oldie but goodie has been afforded a new lease on life thanks to iTunes. No Nations No Peoples was released in 2002 and snapped up by a record label that went under. The subsequent digi-release floudered as well. But not to be discouraged, ALP has made No Nations available on iTunes. Here's what one review had to say:

"Solid and substantial, musically just so varied, and yet so darned catchy, it's an electronic ambient downtempo brew that will have your feet tapping and your body swaying as track after incredible track fills the airwaves, each one full of the most wondrous array of melodies layers and textures that you could hope to hear - a simply astounding album that is so refreshing and vital it should be prescribed to anyone feeling down or alone. Fantastic and then some."
-- A Garibaldi (CD Services)

Get it here at iTunes.
posted by Bev  # 12:14 PM | Perma Link
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I know it has been a while since I have updated my website! This has been due to an unexpected move and a dysfunctional ISP (Earthlink). The county recently forced me out of my apartment because of a housing code violation so I have established camp in a neighborhood known as North Takoma. Despite being in the trendy 20910 zip code it has been a lot to ask to get a solid green light on the DSL modem.

Anyhow, I am in the process of sending the new CD through the digital distribution pipeline. It is entitled "Brief Episodes of Joy" and if you wait to buy it from Amazon or CD Baby it will feature brightly colored packaging and a bonus remix of the Techno Squirrels. Stay tuned for spring CD release news!

I also had a fabulous time this year working with local contemporary folk faves Cletus and Lori on a track called "She's Coming Back Around" that you can listen to on their myspace page. My 2002 release "No Nations No Peoples," a CD so good it was thwarted by record label drama, is now available on iTunes. I can't get you the direct link now because I don't have iTunes connected to the internet, but you'll see it if you search for Arthur Loves Plastic. TTFN!!!
posted by Bev  # 7:49 PM | Perma Link
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GEICO have added a "Snooze & Rejuve" room to the Caveman's Crib website. If you click on the blue cell phone lying on the coffee table you can hear "Ravish" playing in the background on the fourth video clip.

Buy "Ravish" on iTunes here:


If you have arrived here from Prep & Party, here is where you can get the tracks from the Caveman' iPod:

Feel the Love (from the album Troubled):

Or it is available from itunes:

And just to demonstrate where I fall on the art vs. commerce spectrum, the track Boogie Bonnie Bell is a free download at archive.org.
posted by Bev  # 7:45 PM | Perma Link
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I was thrilled to be the guest on IFI Music Live August 21. The show is broadcast from a basement in Wheaton with dozens of parakeets and three dogs. Talk about a captive audience! Here are the links to listen to the archive:

• Part 1
• Part 2

posted by Bev  # 8:47 PM | Perma Link
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