This guy has taken it to the next level recreating covers in MS Paint and I especially appreciate his subject choices. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

you can also find a huge collection of these MS Paint renditions in this set which has been collected from various user submissions on music forums. it’s a goldmine!

i just got this copy of The Getaway by Jim Thompson in the mail thinking the cover artwork was so badass. Then I came across this gallery of his vintage editions that is completely next level:

On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis of the Pirates pitched a no-hitter under the influence of LSD

You should watch this cool 1954 semi-abstract animation of Edgar Allan Poe’s legendary short story, preferably while while sipping on a cask of Amontillado.

Went to Day 2 of the Treasure Island Music Festival, didn’t bring my main camera but posted a few on the Tumblog from my phone. Flaming Lips headlined and their set was so much fun in an eternal pizza party sort of way: a cosmic vagina on the huge LCD backdrop literally gave birth to the band as the entrance, lots of gospel dancing Yetis on the sidelines, Wayne crowd surfing inside a giant beachball/hamster ball, lots of robots and George Lucas looking creatures, lots of confetti and balloons and then confetti in balloons exploding every 4 bars…. I’m really digging the new album Embryonic which is a little dirtier sounding, way psychedelic, more percussion oriented, sparse with instrumentation but not with the spacyness or fuzz. Some of the songs sound like more thought out Silver Apples tracks off of the Contact LP with a hard driving low-end pulse. My kinda sound

Here’s some pics I found from doing a search on flickr:

and here’s some video:

Here’s another blatant steal from my friend Joy. I’m loving these images by Mark Weaver. They look organic and analog, not too graphic designey at all…

Now that I got a hold of the 10CD 13th Floor Elevators Box Set, I can share two incredible previously unreleased live versions of songs that sound so amazing and dynamic from the disc titled “Death in Texas” recorded in Houston in 1967.

ok world, now i hate myself for loving pork so much that i want to cry.

from the Daily Mail:

They can live for up to 18 years, but make popular pets as they are low maintenance, quiet and surprisingly clean.

‘Micro pigs make fantastic pets as they are very low maintenance. You don’t have to take them for walks and they have very few health issues,’ said Miss Croft.

‘They don’t make much noise, they are easy to toilet train and once they have bonded with you they are very loving.

AWWWWWWWWWWW!

I watched a really disgusting horror flick called The Ruins recently that I thought would be interesting because of the Yucatan locale and the plot centered around Mayan ruins, but it was way too fucked up. I love a good old fashion bloodbath in the David Cronenberg or John Carpenter vein, but these new school horror movies are much too sadistic & cringeworthy for my blood with all the torture devices and bones breaking. What happened to squibs?

Anyway, it’s October. Time for getting lost in a corn maze, passing out candy to lil monkeys, carving pumpkins, eating more stuff with squash in it and… watching scary movies. Here are five spooky horror films i love that freak me out cerebrally instead of making me want to vomit:

1) Rosemary’s Baby starring Mia Farrow (dir. Roman Polanski 1968)

2) Don’t Look Now starring Donald Sutherland & Julie Christie (dir. Nick Roeg 1973)

3) Hour of The Wolf starring Max Von Sydow & Liv Ullmann (dir. Ingmar Bergman 1968)

4) The Tenant starring Roman Polanski (dir. Roman Polanski 1976)

5) Eyes Without a Face starring Alida Valli (dir. Georges Franju 1960)

have you been following my photo tumblog? well, if not no worries. me and el novio have been homebrewing a batch of pale ale. it’s not ready yet and probably won’t be done until at least another 2 weeks, but here is the label we made for the bottles. arrrgggh!

The photos I’ve seen from this Sydney dust storm are amazing. They remind me of this science-fiction short story I read as a young teen where Earth became inhabitable and people had to live on Mars.

Pics via Flickr

With a layer of coastal stratus coating the valley floor of Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, Calif., moisture from tropical storm Linda is seen as lightning stikes early Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 over Sonoma County.

What a somber day at work, for obvious and non-obvious reasons. My coping mechanism may be shot today due too many sudden overwhelming variables at once, but never underestimate the awesome uplifting power of the people you love and the music you love. I’ve been playing “Stupid Girl” and “Drive Back” a lot today off of Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Zuma album and it’s temporarily breathing some much needed life back into me before the start of a busy weekend of social obligations. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to him, but today I remembered how much I appreciate the sharp contrast between Neil Young’s solo releases and his stuff with Crazy Horse. On the solo albums, a majority of the songs are understated and lo-key and his voice is vulnerable sounding — so much at times that it sounds like it is hopelessly mired in turmoil. But by contrast on the Neil Young & Crazy Horse albums, he sounds strong and alive and the music is more plugged-in, blown out loud & proud and has this great dirty guitar sound. He’s got a deep range of emotion and expression and this is only the tip of the iceberg of many reasons why I think he rules.

Hearing “Drive Back” again today made me curious about its meaning. A few years ago, I used to think this song was about two lonely people being conflicted about an unexpected impression of love from a one night stand, which is completely retarded now that I think about it. I guess I’m constantly learning that I think it’s possible that I can find myself thinking that 5 minutes ago me is really stupid. So…maybe not about a one nite stand, but maybe it could be about a one night stand-off? Or an ashamed fugitive who can never go home again. Or in more general terms, a desperate person who tried to escape problems and driven by a strong desire for a clean slate. Or a last ditch 11th hour intervention before an inevitable final goodbye. OR! a mix-n-match combination of any of those scenarios and so on. Neil is a lot of things and that’s why I love him. In addition, “Barstool Blues” was the first, and really to the this day, one of the few complete songs I learned to play on guitar. And just like remembering how to ride a bike, I don’t think I can ever forget how to play it because I could always relate, even in my happiest moments. For sentimentality alone, he will always have a special place in my heart.

Anyway, for the many reasons I listed above, listening to songs like “Drive Back” goes beyond the oversimplistic saying “There’s two sides to every story” and makes me think there could be infinite sides. His lyrics can be not-so direct, but also not-so ambiguous puzzles that I enjoy paying attention to and trying to solve because they are poignant and not esoteric at all. If you can get past the long-winded guitar wankery outro, which could understandably ruin it for some (I have a high-tolerance for wankery), this song is satisfyingly dynamic while Neil’s vocals smolder intensely and are so, so resolute sounding that there is a je ne sais quoi quality about it that is somewhat empowering to me. I am absolutely enamored by its soulfulness. While technically his voice isn’t stellar, I really believe the honest & expressive tones in his vocals are so distinctive that it’s special and unequivocally worthy of admiration. But that’s just one side to Neil I felt compelled to highlight and I can go on and on about him. Case in point, “Ohio” about the Kent State shootings reminds me of Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo who was a freshman on campus when it happened. To me personally, it’s a fascinating cross-cultural pollination of my interests and 3 of my most major obsessions: history, American pop culture/Americana & music. And on another human nature level, but completely different note, this particular quote from “On the Beach” kills me:

I could chew on every line from his catalogue.

Whatever gets you through the night
That’s all right with me
When it’s time to say goodbye
I have to make you see

You won’t know me
I won’t call you
I won’t be there
To remind you
What you told me
When I showed you
In the morning
Let me know you’ll
Drive back to your old town

I wanna wake up with no one around

If somebody is haunting your mind
Look in my eyes
Let me hide you
From yourself and all your old friends
Every good thing comes to an end.