Little bits of news.

Recent downloads:

• Mike Errico, Pictures of the Big Vacation
• U2, No Line on the Horizon
• Willie Nelson/Asleep at the Wheel, Willie and the Wheel
• Kutiman, Kutiman
• Neko Case, Middle Cyclone
• John Lee Hooker, I Feel Good
• Robbie Fulks, Georgia Hard

My nephew found this, which is really, literally, too cool for words (this guy remixes music on YouTube to make songs of his own--wow wow wow):

Have an awesome weekend, you guys.

Jane's addiction.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some links to radio that would improve your life, including some information that may not have fully riveted your attention, to wit: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.

Now this:

Minor pandemonium ensued in the blogosphere this month after Quirk Books announced the publication of . . . an edition of Austen’s classic juiced up with “all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem” by a Los Angeles television writer named Seth Grahame-Smith. (First line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”)

Next year, there will be Jane Bites Back (in which the exploited author revenges herself vampire-style upon all the people who've been making money off her work since her death). What's next for Ms. Austen the Mashup?  Will Mr. Darcy prove to have been a cyborg all along?  

M.I.A. vs. M.I.A.

 (Photos courtesy of Go Fug Yourself: because fugly is the new pretty.)

If M.I.A. has to fight herself in order to establish style dominance, which version of her, last night at the Grammys, wins? the dress in which polka dot patches are kind of like a deconstructed Minnie Mouse, covering--sort of--relevant body parts? Accessorized by awesome white trainers. And sun glasses.  And let's not forget the sheer footless tights.

OR:  would it be the huge kimono satin-y thing that can double as a parachute in case she has to jump out of a plane to deliver her baby which is due, like, yesterday, adding a potentially MacGyver-esque aspect to this outfit?  Also, is that an acid-yellow bra peeking out? To complement the awesome blue trainers? (Ignore irrelevant accessory in the form of Katy Perry.)

It would be hard to call the outcome of this, right?  But I say it ends in a draw, with both versions so way out there, they take the breath away, however you might have experienced that.  Way to go, M.I.A.  

[Note:  I have shamelessly ripped off this idea--X vs. Y--from The Cut, New York Magazine's fashion blog.  In the spirit of Larry Lessig, I am calling it a remix.]

A little Spooky.

For anyone thinking about how art, technology, Marcel Duchamp, and the remix all add up, here is the answer, courtesy of DJ Spooky at the Dallas Art Museum. It's worth watching all the way to the end--he sums everything up in a wonderful way. (thanks to Stephen R. for passing this along.)