WORD :: Encoutering Life's Endings.

Plato said, "If you wish to live well, practice dying."

Tune in to understand why ...

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"All that lives is transitory, and will depart this life."

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Louis Silverstein is a transcendental/holistic philosopher and practitioner, and multi-cultural and interdisciplinary educator. Currently a Distinguished Professor of Liberal Education at Columbia College Chicago, he teaches courses in Peace Studies, Dying & Death, Education, Culture & Society, and Social Problems In American Society. Louis has presented on a variety of topics at meetings of professional associations, including: the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, the American Council on Education, the Association for Humanistic Sociology, the American Association of Higher education, the American Educational Research Association, the National Adult Education Association, the Third World Studies Association, the Alliance-Association for External Degree Programs for Adults, the National Social science Association, the International Society for Exploring Teaching Alternatives, the Creative Management in Higher Education Association, the Popular Culture Association, the Coalition To Increase Minority Degrees, the Midwest Philosophy of Education Society, the American Society On Aging, the Humanities Education & Research Association and the World Forum On Education. Topics presented by Louis include: "Teaching A Culture of Peace & Justice," "Breaking The Silence: Drugs, Culture & Truth," "Sex As Curse & Blessing," "Aging Stories," "Emotional Intelligence," "Death & Dying," and "Embodied/Experiential Spirituality." In addition, he is the author Of "An Oral History of Columbia College, Vols. I-V," "Deep Spirit & Great Heart: Living In Marijuana Consciousness" and "Encountering Life's Endings." Louis is also co-founder and co-director of the Life Arts Society, dedicated to the healing and uplifting of mind, body and spirit. His studies, theoretical and experiential, of transformative consciousness and alternative realities have been of long duration, encompassing four decades-1960's to the present, and have taken him to settings throughout the U.S., and to Jamaica, Costa Rica, Canada and numerous European countries. 

LISTEN UP :: Dubstep Is Like A Girl I Used To...

"Dubstep is like a girl i used to fuck... most nights i can't stand to be in the same room with her ...but you remind me of why i used to fuck that bitch."   - Homie Kurt <Facebook>

NastyNasty is, hands down, one of my all-time favorite Electronic music creators. He was the first DJ to turn me on to the more Crunk, Glitchy, Future Bass sound that has recently gained a HUGE amount of attention from fans, listeners, DJs and producers in the Electronic music community. The man's talent and creativity are undeniable.  

Some of you may have seen the short post I did a few months ago, which featured NastyNasty. If you never got the chance to, you can find it here. Annnd now, for your listening pleasure...below you will find a few of my favorite NastyNasty tracks, two of which are available to download for free, as well as some free downloads made available by NastyNasty via his Facebook fanpage. I guarantee, that before the first track is finished playing, you'll be gettin' dowwwn on the floor Mama Ana stylee ;)

:: STREAM & DOWNLOAD NASTYNASTY ::

NastyNasty :: OUT HERE (ORIGINAL MIX)

NastyNasty ::  STACKING

NastyNasty :: TRAPS

NastyNasty :: NO NAMES VIP

:: BONUS : MO' FREE NASTYNASTY ::

CHOKER / BLEEDING / JUNKIE / LAST UNICORN

ELECTRONIC EXPLORATIONS MIX / LAZER SOUL (FOR SF WEEKLY) / GRIME SCIENCE

NastyNasty is gracing audiences across the country with his presence during the months of March, April and May of this year. Posted on the flyer above, are the dates of each NastyNasty show and the cities he will visit.

FRITE NITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : MYSPACE : YOUTUBE

IN MOTION :: "Beyond Wonderland" 2011 Trailer.

LISTEN UP :: Yelle Is Coming.

My obsession with French Electropop band Yelle began when I first heard the song "A Cause Des Garcons" playing in the background during a scene from, what was once, one of my fave TV shows. The only way I can adequately communicate how hard and how quickly I fell in love with Yelle's music, is to take you back in time with me...

It's 2008 , I'm sitting on the futon in the living room of my Damen Ave. apartment, annnnnd I almost feel embarrassed saying this, but I'm watching The Hills on MTV. The star of the show, LC, is in Paris with coworker and friend Whitney on a fashion mission assigned to them by LA-based badass fashion bigshot (a.k.a their boss) Kelly Cutrone. After picking up a dress from a Parisian couture designer, LC and Whit exit the shop to head back to their hotel and get ready for a night out on the town. 

As they step inside their sleek and shiny ride, and their conversation comes to an end, a catchy Electropop beat starts to play quietly in the background. And once LC and Whit were comfortably seated in the back of their chauffeur-driven BMW, the song's instrumentals are on full-blast and the voice of a highly enthused, sassy, French chick kicks in.  

It was at this point, that I literally jumped off the couch and began dancing around my living room like someone had just lit my ass on fire; my arms flailed wildly above my head, and my hips rolled in circles and bounced side-to-side, in perfect unison with my bare feet as they moved across the floor to the beat. 

That night, while searching online for the song I had heard on The Hills, I stumbled upon a Tecktonik version of one of Yelle's songs; directed by Bastien Lattanzio and Guillaume Berg. The video uses a Tepr remix of a Yelle song and features Tecktonik dancers Treaxy and Vavan dancing beside the letters of the word "Yelle."

From that night (when I first heard the band and saw the dance) on, for almost a year, I was hooked on Yelle and Tecktonik.

 

LA MUSIQUE (TEPR RMX)

CE JEU (TEPR RMX)

A CAUSE DES GARCONS (TEPR RMX)

A CAUSE DES GARCONS (TEPR RMX / LONG VERSION)

.:: YELLE TOUR DATES ::.

4.16 :: Indio, CA : Coachella
4.17 :: Phoenix, AZ : Rhythm Room
4.18 :: Tuscon, AZ : Club Congress
4.19 :: Albuquerque, NM : Launchpad
4.21 :: Dallas, TX : Granada Theatre
4.22 :: Austin, TX : Mohawk
4.23 :: Houston, TX : Fitzgerald's
4.25 :: Atlanta, GA : Masquerde
4.26 :: Chapel Hill, NC : Cat's Cradle
4.27 :: Washington, DC : 9:30 Club
4.29 :: Boston, MA : Royale Boston
4.30 :: New York, NY : Irving Plaza

5.02 :: Quebec City, Quebec : Le Circle
5.03 :: Montreal, Quebec : Le National
5.04 :: Toronto, Ontario : The Opera House
5.06 :: CHICAGO, IL : BOTTOM LOUNGE

5.07 :: Minneapolis, MN : First Ave
5.08 :: Madison, WI : Majestic Theatre
5.10 :: Denver, CO : Bluebird Theater
5.11 :: Salt Lake City, UT : Urban Lounge
5.13 :: Vancouver, British Columbia : The Commodore Ballroom
5.14 :: Seattle, WA : Neumos
5.15 :: Portland, OR : Wonder Ballroom
5.17 :: Reno, NV : Tonic Lounge
5.18 :: Santa Cruz, CA : Rio Theater
5.19 :: San Francisco, CA : Regency Ballroom
5.20 :: San Diego, CA : The Casbah
5.21 :: Los Angeles, CA : Henry Fonda Theatre

LISTEN UP :: Ellie Goulding / Tour Dates.

3.16 - 3.19 :: Austin, TX : SXSW
3.22 :: Washington, DC : Rock And Roll Hotel
3.23 :: Boston, MA : Brighton Music Hall
3.24 :: New York, NY : Webster Hall
3.25 :: Philadelphia, PA : World Café Live Downstairs
3.27 :: Toronto, Ontario : Great Hall
3.30 :: CHICAGO, IL : LINCOLN HALL
3.31 :: Minneapolis, MN : Fine Line Music Café
3.02 :: Boulder, CO : Fox Theater
3.03 :: Salt Lake City, UT : Avalon Theatre

4.10 :: Vancouver, British Columbia

4.11 :: Seattle, WA : Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room
4.13 :: Portland, OR : Doug Fir Lounge
4.14 :: San Francisco, CA : Rickshaw Stop
4.16 :: San Diego, CA : Casbah
4.17 :: Indio, CA : Coachella

LUSTEN UP :: Rusko On Fire / Tour Dates & Cities.

LISTEN UP :: Yo Yo Yo! It's FreQ Nasty Friday.

I first heard FreQ Nasty's music on a remix he and Switch did of the Santogold (aka Santigold) track Creator in 2007. More recently, I was steady bumping the bass-heavy FreQ Nasty vs. Bassnectar remix of Everybody for a few weeks straight. It seems as if, no matter how many times I play FreQ's music, I never get sick of it. I believe this can be almost entire;y attributed to the fact that the music he creates is a perfect blance, and mix, of heady Rasta (aka REAL DUB), Dubstep, and Electronic.

 
While digging a little deeper into FreQ Nasty's online presence, I found an extensive bio of the artrist on The Untz and thought it would be a nice addition to this post, for those of you who actually read the posts I write and enjoy knowing more about the artists you listen to, than if they prefer blunts or tequila.

Freq Nasty (also spelled as FreQ Nasty) is a glitch hop, breakbeat, dub, and electronica producer. Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, breakbeat pioneer Freq Nasty is widely-acknowledged by critics for consistently breaking boundaries with his music, from his classic breaks tunes such as "Boomin Back Atcha" and "Move Back," to remixes of pop icons like Fatboy Slim, Kelis and KRS-One. At the same time, Freq is receptive to all that surrounds him; for example, his move to London and immersion in its developing scenes in the 80s resulted in seminal releases on Botchit & Scarper. Forward thinking and progressive, his releases evidenced a sign of the fast-moving times.

These days, FreQ Nasty is staying one step ahead of the ongoing, hype-fueled evolution of electronic music with his contributions to the Futurestep sound. The recently released FABRICLIVE.42 mix album is evidence of this shapeshifting sound: with it, Freq takes on the bass heavy stomp of L-Vis 1990's UK take on Baltimore house, the blistering shatter of TRG, and several of his own storming productions, including Creator, a co-production with Switch on a Santogold tune released in 2007.

Freq is also well-known in the music scene for his social activism. In early 2008, Freq launched Giveback.net, a socially-conscious site featuring music campaigns, whereby musicians donate music in support of non-profit "action campaigns".The first campaign, in support of the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement, featured a collaboration with West Coast breaks artist, Bassnectar, Viva Tibet. The campaign successfully raised $8,000 in support of TPUM's March to Tibet earlier this year. His reasons for supporting the campaign, in his own words:

"It's time we as a music community reached out on a grassroots level and showed some love to those who need it, to whatever extent we feel able. Most of us don't vote, most of us see the news as something that happens to somebody else, and most of us have excess that the majority of the people we see on the news can only dream of. If we can help spread the idea that creating positive change in the world elsewhere is an investment in our own security and happiness then I'm a happy DJ."

Freq also collaborated with San Francisco-based Heavyweight Dub Champion, remixing the group's Snared tune, in support of The World Family's creation of an irrigation system in the village of Gara Dima, Ethiopia, and Michael Franti, remixing Franti's "The Future", in support of a Bay Area nonprofit to help create a music studio for at-risk youth. 

While perusing The Untz, I also stumbled upon a press release, dated January 25th and entitled, "FreQ Nasty at the Controls" (see below) announcing that FreQ Nasty's first release on Muti Music was set to drop the folllowing day. 

"Dread at the Controls" is the first track from FreQ in quite a while, and represents the future of futurestep, among others. FreQ Nasty has been at the forefront of several D&B genres, from garage and grime, to dubstep and now drumstep. Along with "Dread at the Controls", his track "Drum Play" shows off his ability to smash genres. In this case, it's Drumstep and Dancehall. A bombastic pair (what would you expect from the creator of "Boomin' Back Atcha"), Dread at the Controls is even more evidence that FreQ Nasty will always be a vanguard, and Muti Music keeps putting out the freshest sounds around.

FREQ NASTY'S LATEST TRACKS

THE UNTZ PODCAST EPISODE 49 :: FREQ NASTY

I will finally get the opportunity to see FreQ Nasty throw down on stage when the Monster of Bass Tour hits Chicago on March 8th.

If you live in the area, and don't have tickets to this event yet, get them NOW! I truly believe this tour will be one of the best to roll through ChiTown all year. In addition to FreQ Nasty, MartyParty and Opiuo, two of my favorite Electronic music-makers, are also on the Monsters of Bass bill. And if you don't understand why I'm so geeked on this ish, or why it is imperative that you score tickets to Monsters of Bass, watch the promo video below. Okayyy, get ya mind right...

The music that will be made by these MONSTERS OF BASS on March 8th is going to be so grimy...

I'll be showering the nassst off me for weeks 8 ) 

Bio: The Untz / Music: Soundcloud / Images: Clubtix & The Big Up Magazine

LISTEN UP :: Preview "Sirimande / Feed My Meat Machine."

SIRIMANDE / FEED MY MEATMACHINE (MONKEYTOWN011) 

* DROPS MARCH 25TH *

Image source: Nashville Nights

LISTEN UP :: Hot As Hell / Drop The Lime / Remixed.

Hot As Hell, Drop The Lime's new single, has quite the Rockabilly sound and feel to it! Below are two remixes of the track. The first is a remix by Nouveau Yorican (aka Laidback Luke & Gina Turner) and the second is from Yolanda Be Cool. Drop The Lime's highly-anticipated new album, Enter The Night, is expected to drop in February 2011.

.:: FREE DOWNLOADS ::.

HOT AS HELL (NOUVEAU YORICAN  RMX) / HOT AS HELL (YOLANDA BE COOL RMX)

Sources: True To Sound & RCRD LBL

CAPTURED :: Mama Ana Says, "PEACE."

PEACE ☮

LISTEN UP :: Rusko Counts Down to 2011.

GIGS :: Мишка Wants You.

Here is you chance to get one foot in the our grave. We are looking for brave souls with a variety of talents that will be able to commit for a minimum of 3 days a week for 3 month tenure. Please submit your resume and a cover letter explaining to us why you would make a good candidate for any of the following internships.

• Design Interns will assist the Art Department in seasonal designs i.e. creating CADs, tech packs and promotional materials. You need to be proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Free-hand or digital illustration ability a huge plus.
• Operations Interns will assist in the organization of the online/store inventory, partitioning and shipping of the orders and general office/store upkeep duties. Being proficient in MS Office suite required.
• Marketing Interns will assist with press sample pulls, sponsorship and event projects, press/tear sheet archiving and general office upkeep duties. Knowledge of the music, art and fashion industries are all a plus; being proficient in Adobe suite a plus, MS Office suite required.
• Bloglin Interns will assist with maintaining the blog, preparing drafts and creating new contents. Please regularly keep up to date with some combination of music, art, film, TV and fashion if applying; Please have a strong grasp of grammar, proficiency in Photoshop, and basic HTML skills. Maintaining your own blog and knowing your way around a camera are big pluses. Please also enjoy writing and blogging!
• Photo Interns will assist with product and catalog shoots, photo retouching and be sent assignment to cover Мишка sponsored events. You must have your own SLR and know how to use it! Please be proficient in Photoshop. Basic HTML knowledge and blogging ability is also a plus. If you are  a wannabe nightlife photographer, here's a great opportunity if you've got the chops.
• Retail Interns will assist in the day-t0-day operations of running 350 Broadway, from merchandising to retail sales. Being proficient in MS Office suite and being handy with a camera is recommended. Past retail/merchandising experience is a big plus.

Select your area of expertise and put it in your email's subject line. Then send along your resume with a cover letter, explaining your reason for wanting to be part of the darkness, to interns@mishkanyc.com. Please put some thought into your cover letter.We ask that anyone applying to our intern position already live in NYC or be willing to relocate here for the duration of their internship. Please be a motivated self-starter ready to service Satan's every whim. All internships are unpaid… But Hell ain't a bad place to be. All internship are for New York so please either live here or be willing to relocate when applying.

P.S. Our current crew of interns are pretty fuckin' lights out…you'll have some pretty big shoes to fill!

All content via: Мишка

LISTEN UP :: Minehead in the Mid of March.

... BLOC FEST 2011 ...

 March 11 - 13

Butlins Resort, Minehead

Last year, the Bloc Festival featured acts such as: Salt-n-Pepa, Grandmaster Flash, Roots Manuva, Derrick May, and many more.

This year, the 5th anniversary of the fest, will feature acts such as: LFO, Moderat, Vitalic, Joy Orbison, Seth Troxler, Claude Von Stroke, Beardyman, Dopplereffekt, Digital Mystikz, and Black Devil Disco Club. Most recently added to the lineup are: Modeselektor, DJ Funk, A Guy Called Gerald, and Sirusmo. As the fest kick-off dater grows closer, even more acts will be announced.

For all my bass heads out there, I think it is of utmost importance that I mention the fact that there will be a dubstep stage called "Modeselektion," which of course will be curated by Modeselektor, and feature perfomers such as: MAGNETIC MAN, Ben Klock, Ramadanman, Ikonika, Apparat and Siriusmo. 

As I was exploring the Bloc Festival site tonight, I found this recent announcement, 

Chart-topping dubstep futurists Magnetic Man will be topping the bill for Bloc 2011 in a double headline spectacular with the legendary Aphex Twin. The Croydon sound of dubstep has come a long way since we first invited Skream to smash Bloc apart back in 2008. Every time it’s developed, evolved and mutated these guys have been right there at the lasersharp, cutting edge – and have become superstars along the way. Skream, Benga and their mentor Artwork are a hell of a big noise for Bloc – this will be the first time we have hosted their mesmerising live show – and what a perfect fifth birthday headline show for our Bloc family.

For more info visit the Bloc Festival 2011 site here. Also, check out the Spacelab Festival Guide

and the BLOC Weekend festival overview for a complete lineup. And most importantly, buy your Bloc Festival 2011 tickets here.

... BLOC FEST 2011 LINEUP ...

A Guy Called Gerald, Addison Groove, AGT Rave Cru, Al Tourettes, Alva Noto, Aphex Twin, B12, Beardyman, Black Devil Disco Club, Claude Von Stroke, Daedelus, Digital Mystikz, DJ Funk, DJ Pete, DJ Placid , dOP, Dopplereffekt, Drop The Lime, Floating Points, Four Tet, Geddes, Gemmy, Global Goon, Guido, Ikonika, Iration Steppas, Jamie XX, Jimmy Edgar, Joe Hart, Joy Orbison, King Midas Sound, Kyle Hall, L-Vis 1990, Lee Curtiss, Legowelt, LFO, Loefah, Luke Abbott, Magnetic Man, Mala, Mark2, Mary Anne Hobbs, Moderat, Modeselektor, Numbers DJs, Orgue Electronique, Oscar Mulero, Pinch, Posthuman, Ramadanman, Redlight, Roska, Rustie, SBTRKT, Seth Troxler, Shackleton, Shaun Reeves, Silent Servant, Siriusmo, Soul Clap, Space Dimension Controller, Speedy J, The Advent (live), TLR, Toddla T, Top Cat, Union DJs, Untold, Venetian Snares, Vitalic, Will Sau, and more TBA.

STEEZ :: Rachel Antoff / Spring 2011 / Remembering Rachel Vid.

REMEBERING RACHEL 

This is a video promo for the Rachel Antonoff spring 2011 Collection. The video, "Remembering Rachel," was made by Igorandandre. If you follow the link, you will have access to 20-something more vids by Igorandandre. The music featured in this video is by a band named Slowblow. If you have a free minute, check them out...def worth listening to more.