Author: catsynth

New Podcast: World of Wonder with DJ CatSynth, January 30, 2013

Better late than never, here is the podcast for my January 30, show.

World of Wonder with DJ CatSynth, January 30, 2013

12:00AM-12:10AM (10:00) Richard Devine “York Capacitor” from Risp LP (2012) on Detroit Underground

12:10AM-12:17AM (6:55) Signal “Wismut” from Robotron (2007) on Raster-Noton

12:17AM-12:25AM (7:52) Brigit Uhler & Gino Robair “Capacitance Blubber” from Capacitance Blubber (Single)

12:26AM-12:35AM (8:38) Dewanatron “Cooling Period” from Irregular Hours, Vol. 1 (2006) on Obedience School Music

12:35AM-12:40AM (5:36) Mitchell Akiyama “Strategies for Combating Invisibility” from Small Explosions That Are Your’s to Keep (2005) on Sub Rosa (Belgium)

12:40AM-12:59AM (18:12) TaTE “El toque de silencio (The call for silence)” from Ph: 0439544574 (2003)

01:00AM-01:05AM (5:00) Amar Chaudhary “Under the Weather (analog modular improvisation)” from Under the Weather (analog modular improvisation) (Single, 2013)

01:05AM-01:09AM (4:15) Pierre Schaeffer “Cinq Cinq études de bruits /1948 – Etude noire” from Schaeffer : L’Œuvre musicale (CD)

01:09AM-01:30AM (21:33) Iannis Xenakis “Bohor” from Electronic Music (1962)

01:31AM-01:49AM (18:27) Karlheinz Stockhausen “Stockhausen: Kontakte – Part 2” from Stockhausen: Kontakte (CD, 1992) on Wergo

01:49AM-01:57AM (8:06) Richard Devine “Reneanalogueseq” from Risp LP (2012) on Detroit Underground

01:57AM-01:58AM (0:56) Ilkae “Camai” from Pistachio Island (2001) on Merck Records

Tune in tonight at midnight PST on KUSF in Exile (San Francisco Community Radio) to hear co-host Matt Davignon’s program, or look for the podcast here.

Superb Owl

To mark this occasion, we thought we would share some superb owls.

[By Peter Trimming from Croydon, England (‘Tutoke’Uploaded by snowmanradio) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons]

[By GalliasM (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons[]

And we even found an “Owl Synth Pic” 🙂

[From Mike Peakcock2005 from flickr.]

And finally, check out this review of a performance by Tiny Owl.

Weekend Cat Blogging with Luna

Earlier this week, we had rehearsals at CatSynth HQ for my Thursday-night performance as the poetry-and-music duo “Pitta of the Mind.” And Luna was on hand to supervise and support.

Her annoyed expression has more to do with the camera flash than anything else. She was very curious and hung out with us during the rehearsal, which was great to see as she is usually quite shy. And of course, she is quite used to the strange sounds from the iPad and modular synth.

The show itself was great, and will be the topic of a separate post in the near future.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Samantha, Clementine and Maverick.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Fun with Highways: the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge

Today, we visit the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge to mark the passing today of former New York Mayor Ed Koch. The bridge, which carries New York State Route 25 from Queens to its terminus in Manhattan at 2nd Avenue, is known locally at the “59th Street Bridge.” It’s actually over 100 years old, having opened in 1909.

[By Lasse Fuss (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons]

The Queens side connects to a tangled nexus of ramps that are mixed up with elevated subway structures. And as these structures are all aging, they become interesting photographic subjects. The bridge was named in honor of the former mayor in 2010.

Here is cute video that has been circulating today, in which Mayor Koch welcomes passersby (including the current mayor) to “my bridge”. (You need only watch the segment until about 2:00)

It’s very typical of his style, being a larger-than-life character but also a bit self-deprecating. It is quintessentially “New York”. From the New York Times obituary:

…out among the people or facing a news media circus in the Blue Room at City Hall, he was a feisty, slippery egoist who could not be pinned down by questioners and who could outtalk anybody in the authentic voice of New York: as opinionated as a Flatbush cabby, as loud as the scrums on 42nd Street, as pugnacious as a West Side reform Democrat mother.

I did have the opportunity to meet him twice on visits back from Yale to New York City, as part of the Yale Political Union. Although my colleagues seemed to treat him rather coldly, I was quite happy for the experience.