J.D. Salinger

“I hope to hell that when I do die somebody has the sense to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetary. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.” - J.D. Salinger

Rest in Peace Captain.

Different

Perhaps it is my lack of regular DJ performances as of late, but I am finding myself delving into different genres of sound as of late. Particularly, minimal wave, hauntology, and IDM. In this vein, a good friend of mine, JPLS, has put together a DJ mix of sorts of the latter. All of the stripped down qualities you come to expect from his moniker but with less form and more experimentation. It is refreshing to hear the sounds that initially introduced me to electronics compiled into a take on the "best of" mentality. Take a listen and keep an open mind. This is the sound of yesterday that sounds all too new now. It would also behoove you to listen to the new album Depths from JPLS as well.

JPLS Mix for Electric Deluxe - Listen Here

Also, expect some "different" takes on music over the next short period of time. I'm feeling rather strange.

Eric Cloutier

Somewhere around 2006 I followed Derek Plaslaiko up to Detroit for one of the infamous UNTITLED parties. While there I witnessed a DJ playing in an American Nightmare shirt that absolutely blew my mind named Eric Cloutier. Fast forward a couple months and I was conversing with him regularly and booked him to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ever since he has been a regular here and has gained more and more notoriety in the techno realm. He is now a NYC resident and has been paid the honor of playing events as home based as the Movement Festival to bigger events such as the Labyrinth Festical in Japan. Although his music is constantly evolving it always tends to go in a direction that I can respect and enjoy. I thought I would show him a bit of love and post one my personal favorite mixes he did for MNML SSGS. Take a listen and enjoy, it's a nice ride.

Listen Here Now

More Information About Eric Cloutier

Hornets from Hell

I don't need to tell you how much this intrigues me. A small but highly efficient killing machine lurks in the mountains of Japan — the Japanese giant hornet. The voracious predator pumps out a dose of venom with an enzyme so strong it can dissolve human tissue. Just a handful of these hornets can kill 30,000 European honeybees within hours. Moreover, up to 40 human deaths a year are attributed to encountering these hand-sized demons.

Emma De Sèze

This year I came across a new sound in the techno realm that took me for a loop from a young lady named Emma De Sèze. We found each other through the mighty wasteland that is MySpace and after talking back and forth a number of times we decided to release her music on the Race Car Productions imprint. A relationship was made and I ended up remixing one of her songs on the release. Her music is quirky with deep and dark elements. It isn’t at all the trend but stands on its own as a new voice with roots in many different arenas. Her debut on Italo Business was not as producer but as a vocalist on Hernan Bass’ song entitled Francesa; however, she has released Bambi through us and the I Can’t EP through Tao Dan Records. It is safe to say that she has a warm and burgeoning career ahead with a myriad of labels. Do yourself a favor, have a listen to her latest DJ set and her discography. This is one to watch.

Emma De Sèze – October Mix [feat. music from Sir Von Rohr and bernstein] October mix by EmmadeSèze

Let's Dance!

It seems that all the male Books and Blood readers should take heed and start dance classes. US psychologists Cindy Meston and David Buss unveiled details of their new book ‘Why Women Have Sex’ this week and revealed that men who are good at dancing communicate subliminal messages of being better mates.

“In fact, in our studies, we found that some women had sex with men simply because they'd been impressed by their dancing,” the sex specialist professors told the Daily Mail, “(The women in our study) were more attracted to men who displayed larger and more sweeping movements. They also rated these men more erotic,” they said.

So men, get to work! If you need a little help read The Disco Handbook. Smiles.

The Disco Handbook

Obsolete

As most of you would assume, I am actually a librarian. It’s not just a catchy name. I don’t like to dwell on my daytime job. I figure most of the blog universe is inundated with complaints and concerns rather than just an appreciation for art and the pursuit thereof which has primarily been my focus up until now. However, when I read an article that views books as obsolete it makes me question the world I live in. David Abel writes, “When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. “This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’ This is a preposterous notion regardless of its emerging relevance. I use books daily to great effect, but who am I kidding, I still buy vinyl. Evil grin.




All things noted, I am not a typical librarian. Often times when people find out my profession they say something quip like, “I bet you really like to read, huh?” I usually respond with a yes, but quickly spout out that that had nothing to do with my decision to become a librarian. I plainly enjoyed the adventure of the quest for information. I value continuing to be a life long learner. A day in my life is spent working with code and helping students with the overwhelming and daunting task of finding information. The latter is my enjoyment.

Therefore, my view of books is not as antiquarian as it is out of a passion to have a novel sitting beside my bed. I am not going to bore anyone with the fact that some books are very useful in research and absolutely imperative for certain subject matters but I will say that James Tracy is ignorant in his knowledge of research and his ability to listen to the most important expert on the matter, his school’s library director.

Sad indeed.