this is a list of people, places and things that really grabbed me this year. in no way is it fully comprehensive of all the amazing shit that i experienced this year, but lets just call it a best of the best.
and now i present to you.....
2010,
A LOOK BACK.
1. DIS MAGAZINE
any one person who reads this blog or checks my facebook or TWITTER, knows how much i fanboy over the more than genius, DIS MAGAZINE. it as been amazing to witness how far these talented kids have come this year and how influential the site is becoming. i remember talking with my friend patrik, (who happens to run the legendary cobain in a coma) about a "new project" he was working on, which ended up being DIS. at the time i really had no idea how visionary the idea was. no one "gets it" quite like dis magazine. its even hard to explain. it is at times sarcastic and satirical, but never is there any irony. DIS is for real. and they have a grasp on what it means to live in a post- post modern culture better than really any culture publishing entity of the moment. DIS is inventing an entire aesthetic, and it is fascinating to watch. to another year DIS!! much love. lets collaborate.
and i cant forget about the incredible "best show on tv"
DIS' cyber cubicle punk goth tech savvy "soap opera"
HOOPER PLACE
2. NIGHT SLUGS
ok. lets state the obvious to any follower of forward thinking club music. NIGHT SLUGS IS KILLING THE GAME RIGHT NOW. seriously, has any one record label had as many consistently stellar releases or been as influential as these guys in 2010? they just started this year!! every thing they put out is gold. anthem after anthem. i dont even have much to say because the music speaks for itself. in a time (denver i am looking at you) where dubstep's monotonous and regressive tendrils have their wompy hooks in every club and dance party, nights slug's fusion of post dubstep, uk funky, grime, american R&B, and HOUSE is more than a breath of fresh air. no one sounds like this shit right now, but in 2011 i can bet everyone will be trying. mental, just fucking mental.
some personal NIGHT SLUGS highlights from 2010
3. UFO'S IN THE MEDIA
Something was going on in the skies big time in 2010.
UFO'S had a really big year. there were more sightings and strange things going on in the skies this year than any other in recorded history. remember the norway spiral? or maybe the PYRAMID THAT FLOATED OVER MOSCOW?. or maybe you recollect the 8 DIFFERENT TIMES THE AIRPORT WAS SHUT DOWN IN CHINA BY UFO'S?! or maybe the october 13th SIGHTING IN MANHATTAN where a ufo hung out for a few hours above the city after military information was released months before hand saying there would be a ufo sighting in a major city of the world on that exact day? or were you paying attention when MILITARY OFFICIALS HELD PRESS CONFERENCES ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH UFO'S?
these are but a few of the sensational events that occurred in our skies and in our media this year. something is obviously going on, and i feel to turn a blind eye or pretend like none of this is real isnt an option any more. this shit is right in our faces. and it is exciting. 2011 could really be a year where we see a paradigm shifting disclosure from the US government take place. i am waiting for it.
video (not 2010) from the DISCLOSURE PROJECT
4. DJ NATE "DA TRAK GENIOUS"
more than any other full length album this year, DJ Nate's "da trak genious" really took my breath away. for all of the sonic influences that dj nate takes from to to produce (juke, ghetto tech, footwork, chicago house) "da trak genious" sounded literally unprecedented. this is NEW music. as in nothing else sounds like this in the world. 2010 was the year the CHICAGO FOOTWORK SCENE captivated the minds of forward thinking music lovers all over the world with other amazing releases and work put out by producers like DJ ROC, DJ RASHAD, and DJ SPINN among many others. still, Nates "da trak genious" is something special and will go down as one of my favorite records of all time. as nate says, "hataz our motivation" inspiring words for anyone wanting to push boundaries in art. keep it up nate.
5. REAL IS A FEELING
(the first real is a feeling flyer)
"REAL IS A FEELING" is a party that i started in denver this year. the party was created to fill what i saw as a void in denver. a void where no really good open minded, freeform, artistic and progressive dance music night was taking place. full disclosure, real is a feeling was directly inspired by the incredible GHE20 GOTHIK party in new york city. (wuts up gothik!) Throughout the year, real is a feeling has become somewhat of a total cultural event, (even though i missed the last few because i am so busy!) and something for people to look forward to. and there is still nothing like it in denver. along with my real is a feeling comrads who have been there from the beginning, HOLLAGRAMZ, and §CREEN§AVER§, we arent stopping bringing denver its best party. shout outs to peter black and cory brown and all the guest dj's we have had at real is a feeling along with everyone who has come out! its all love and progress!! the infinite rave.
6. MOSCOW, RUSSIA.
in may of 2010 i was flown out to moscow, russia to perform, and it was a life changing trip that will stick with me my whole life. the picture above is of myself and a charming local vampire, casually avoiding the direct sunlight in a day at a park. my time spent in moscow was an incredible cultural experience, both for myself and the people who brought me there. most of the people had never met many americans, and i dont know anyone who had ever been to moscow before i went there, so it was a unique learning experience for everyone involved. the trip there was somewhat of an experiment for the promoters, as i think i was the first performer they had ever booked for their new dance night darkly entitled "fatality", where i played with two amazing russian bands, THE STONED BOYS and LOVE FINE. i was told by them that rhinoceropolis and denver were an inspiration for them wanting to create a DIY community similar to the one we have in denver, because something on that level didnt exist in moscow. that really meant something to me and i was happy to bring that spirit to that city. i could really type about all of the crazy shit that went down, but that would honestly take to long, needless to say it was special.
here are some more photos from the trip and an interview that i did on RUSSIAN MTV that is kind of the best thing ever.
vampires in the park.
classic weed out of aluminum can.
PICTUREPLANE ON RUSSIAN MTV. SO FUCKING REAL.
7. SEWN LEATHER AT WHARTSCAPE
I wrote about the legend that is SEWN LEATHER in my "best of 2008"(i shot the video that is there if you follow the link) and two years later, dude is still killing it. one of my favorite performances i saw all year was his set this year at whartscape. whartscape is a DIY festival run by a bunch of amazing people in baltimore, MD every summer. this year was so sick. i saw incredible performances by NARWHALS OF SOUND, DJ DOG DICK, ARAB ON RADAR, FUTURE ISLANDS and motherfucking LIL B... this shit was just straight up retarded. during sewn leathers set i was dancing next to my girl salvia plath when she fell through the wooden railing that held us on the "balcony" of a stage. it ruled. sewn leather forever. anyone who was there knows how electric this shit was. wut's up mark brown?!
sewn leather crowd surfing. or something.
sewn leather, pictureplane, the based god.
8. TRASH HUMPERS
i am a huge fan of harmony korine. so when i heard about "TRASH HUMPERS" i was really excited. i went with some friends to the theater here in denver and fell in love with this movie. all the reviews i read of it completely panned it, which i think made me like it even more. it was at all times surreal, disturbing, hilarious, and a great anarchistic commentary on our collapsing and decaying society. a perfectly fucked up film. high art in my opinion and really underrated as i feel it is one of his best works. check it out if you didnt see it.
9. RYAN TRECARTIN FOR W MAGAZINE
i will start off by saying when i discovered RYAN TRECARTIN's video work a few years ago it became a huge influence on my art, and even my daily life. they were (and are) the stuff of GENIUS, created by a mad artistic cyber scientist in a garden of (un?)earthly queer delights. since those days, ryan has gone on to become somewhat of an underground hero, an artists artist, and an all around art star. so when i heard that he had done a fashion spread in the mainstream style publication, W magazine, lets just say i was more than intrigued. the images above are from that issue, and in my opinion are the best fashion images from the year. the issue had pictures of kim kardashian's naked body painted silver, but it was obviously trecartin's visually arresting imagery that stole the show. the post-human's in the images are a part of and at one with their digitized environments, and i see them as visionary portraits of a future fusion of man and technology. something we are at the alpha stage of in our current world. just brilliant. love you ryan.
for "an inside gaze into the inspiration" for the W mag spread, look no further than Trecartin's insane, and mind boggling RYANS WEB 1.0 for DIS magazine.
10. FULL MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE ON WINTER SOLSTICE.
I dont know how anyone could have witnessed the eclipse that everyone was talking about this winter and not have been awestruck. the energy that night was so vibrant and thick. i feel it was one of the most important events to humanity in a very long time. just the simple visual re-affirmation of seeing OUR shadow, the shadow of the earth, cross the moons surface seemed to click a switch, in even the most simplest of minds, of the simple yet profound reality that we are all here together on this thing. the eclipse was intensely positive, and had an incredible transformative power, that i took as a sign we are entering in to a new world very soon.
to 2010, with love.
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