Sounds of the Underground

So I'm starting to get all "green-eyed" about this local Toronto band called The Envy. Why? Because they've really got a good sound. It has been two long years since they've been on the "scene" due to a battle between their interests and need as a band and the music industry's agenda. However, according to a post on their website (found through the link above) they've addressed the fans reassuring them that, although this has set them back for a time they are ready to get back on schedule.

Moreover they are working their asses off trying to get their music recognized as it should be. They have now decided to "take hold of the reigns" as it were and become their own producers, taking their music back to its roots and ensuring that they have nobody to thank but themselves for their accomplishments from here on out.

They have written a lot of material over the two year hiatus and are now preparing to release it. Collecting what they have written so far they are taking all of the tracks and diving the music into a two-EP-release. The first EP "Deception" was released not to long ago and the second EP "Conception" is set to be released in the not-so-distant-future.

 According to the band, "...Deception is a collection of songs that we wrote during some of the darker times over the past year. We really had lost our voice, and our connection to the outside world." From what I can tell with the first release "Bones" off of Deception it is going to be one hell of a record. This brings me to the purpose of the post in the first place, the music video. Not only is the track one of my favorite songs to listen to but it is ascetically beautiful to look at. I really like the art direction and filmography of the video.

Here's the video...

It seems to me that their going for this dichotomy between the two EP's, where Deception is the darkness of the band and Conception is (as the band puts it) "the rebirth of The Envy". I just love this theme of duality. They even incorporated it into their website which I can admire.

Anyways I'm sort of a sucker for "home grown music" in Toronto and Canada in general I have nothing but respect for this band and back them fully.

Follow them on Twitter @TheEnvy

Cheers.

(Feedback on FEEDBACK) or (I'm So Punny).

Although the reading on FEEDBACK (available here) presented by Christiane Paul seemed daunting and redundant, if only in the aspect of saying "Here's this work...it does this," and "Here's another work...it does that," the overall concept of the exhibition I thought to be interesting.

Therefore, the focus of this post will not be in advocating certain works that spoke to me or stuck with me but rather to talk about the concepts and driving forces behind it. The aspect of dealing with two modern deviations of "Responsive art" being "Al-gore-rhythmic art"....Ooops sorry, "Algorithmic art" or art "Op art" was interesting. I found that the concept of having a sort of autonomous art work changing or "modulating" itself via its own output to create new derivates of the original piece both complex and elegant.

It seems to me  that algorithmic art is slowly becoming popular in newer media circles. I think there is something to be said about giving (and we are talking about an art work here, not a computer program but actually artistic compositions) a piece a set of "instructions" whatever they may be and then having your piece augment itself based upon that. Now we have almost transcended the entire experience of was was to be know as simply "viewing art". There is now a kind of symbiotic relationship between the viewer or (as they are now being called)"user" in that, the piece relies on some interaction from you directed towards it and then provides you with its own "feedback" for a personalized and lasting enjoyment.

With that being said, I have always been a fan of Op art, ever since I was a kid I liked looking at optical illusions and couldn't help but wonder why or how or who or whatever....This form of art is not too too old but is finding ways of reinventing itself. In the reading Paul brings up the relation between Op art and Kinetic art based on the way they move and might react depending on the different intake of data in their environment. Here we see simple pictures transforming themselves into kinetic images and then even further into movies. Again we have a transition from a sort of static image and a triditionional viewer of the art, into an "almost living" work. One that responds to a user making the user as much apart of the experience as the work itself. This is a really radical approach to art considering art's traditional relationship between the elitest artist, the composition and the viewer.

Food For Thought...

If animals weren't ment to be eaten...then why are they made out of food?

Regular People: 1

Vegetarians/Vegans: 0

The Sounds of Toronto

In the never-ending pursuit of finding new music I feel it my obligation to link up one of my favorite Indie bands, Elos Arma. Not only are these guys super fun to listen to but I also had the pleasure of working with the one of the members, Chris @chrislarox, who is on keyboards & vocals. That crazy summ bitch. They recently (this passed summer) released a new EP, MOTHER/FATHER which you can purchase on their site here @ www.elosarma.com via tweeting about it. It's a pretty cool deal man. Check out their video below for the song "San Diego" off of MOTHER/FATHER.

Follow them on twitter @elosarma 

They always have new shows coming. 

Cool Stuff Around the Block

Hey I just fell in love with a new magazine called Juxtapoz this month's issue is a Halloween special "Curated by Alex Pardee" who's generally known for being commissioned to create album artwork for alternative bands like, The Used, In Flames, Aiden etc etc etc. He also has a short career as a music video director. Anyways here's the front cover of this month's issue which is the reason I picked up the mag in the first place:

I then went on their website and it turns out they feature a bunch of cool upcoming artists in a wide array of genres and mediums not to mention articles on music, tattoo, videos and more.

Hit up their website provided here.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Man, when you're tired, you're tired. These are a couple of my friends who looked as if they were having as much fun as I was in class this afternoon.

Video Games as Art?

That is a good question, one which has stirred up quite a lot of controversy among the circles that discuss such things. After reading Brian Moriarty's Apology for Roger Ebert and Jason VandenBerghe's Performance of Play I can see why.

Initially I was shocked at Ebert's stance on art saying, "video games can never be art." I was further taken aback upon reading Moriarty's convoluted defence of him and furthermore on reading VandenBerghe's response to Moriarty. Ebert further comments stating, "Hardly any movies are art," but I believe that to ba a feeble attempt at saving himself from the initial retaliation of the gaming community. Admittedly these reflex feelings of disagreement and irritation came up because I consider myself somewhat of a gamer. I was especially critical upon learning that Ebert has not nor wishes to ever play a video game. How can one simply label and analyze one medium or another without even so much as experiencing that medium? Sounds to me like Ebert was judging one of his beloved books its cover or a movie by its title.

In this case I view Ebert as an elitest who, upon sitting in his ivory tower, decides for himself what can be considered art without being questioned. I am more apt to disregard his stance as someone who is in the true sense of the word "ignorant" in that he lacks knowledge in the experience of any video games and so, in my opinion, cannot make a decision on them one way or another. However that being said, although I disagree with Moriarty's position I am much more inclined to agree with him solely based on his background as a game developer.

My first disagreement with Moriarty comes from his definition of what he calls "sublime art", "Great art, fine art, or the term I prefer, sublime art. Art that deeply rewards a lifetime of contemplation. Art as cultural monument. Art that's good for you. The kind of art that, in Ebert's words, makes us 'more cultured, civilized and empathetic'." Using this definition it is easy to dispel video games as art, I would too if I were of this particular opinion. Were we to accept this as defining a form of art, I would be able to firmly state that I have yet to experience any form of art of any kind. This definition reads too much into some transcendance that, for the most part, does not need to be experienced to be regarded as art.

Secondly considering Moriarty, I cannot condone personifying the problem of "video games as art" into Chess Players by James Northcote. I can hardly see how you can take such a contemporary question and try to work it into a separate composition that hardly addresses the issue. This leads me to my next disagreement with Moriarty which comes from his conclusion that video games are like the dog in Chess Players because they both are exampled of "Kitsch Art". Moriarty dismisses kitsch art as merely "commercial"and therefore not a form of true "sublime" art. I strongly disagree with the piece give below:

To Moriarty this would be the most kitsch form of art, but to me this may be reguarded as a very sublime example of art as well as the start of a new and prominent art movement, "Pop Art".

Finally I must say that I disagree on his assumption that choice liberates a particular work from becoming art. I believe in the contrary, that choice not only creates a work of art but it personalizes it for the user. To me a personalized experience of a work of art is as important as a directive imposed by an artist.

I must close with saying that in part I am inclined to agree with VandenBerghe. I do believe that people attract other users to an art piece. However, I believe that "attraction," as VandenBerghe puts it, is only part of the puzzle. Experience and intention are also apart of it. I must criticize his standpoint though, on sublime art as a "...performance of play." In this he is saying that not the work itself is sublime art but the playing or interacting with the work is. Is that to say that Beethoven's Symphonies (which would vary well fit into Mortiarty's and Ebert's definition of art) would not itself be considered art but rather Beethoven playing his symphonies would?

Food for thought.

Brian Moriarty's Apology for Roger Ebert is available here.
Jason VandenBerghe's Performance of Play is available here.