Ok, I will stop now.

The Wire is the greatest television series ever made. I've been watching seasons one through five for the last two months, and Matt and Will both know that it has completely infiltrated every aspect of my life.

I've almost finished season five... the end is nigh. What's next?

Heartbeats

Maniquill Mixtape 02

The Maniquill Summer Mix Tape

Wes Burt

Well its now been an age since we last posted two Podcasts in a row. Myself and William actually located the files for the show circa 2 weeks ago but William accidently deleted them off his external hard drive almost immediately afterward. last week it was Nicks birthday and consequently we were all unable to make it to the station on that night. We are slacking off big time, the 11 - 1pm slot is starting to get to us. But all this is set to change once we change to an earlier slot, which in fact is in the process of happening. We will let you know the exact details as they come to us.

Above is a sketch from an on going series of drawings capturing the disposition and style of the vagabonds of San Fransisco by Wes Burt, an artist who's drawings had a profound effect on my decision to pursue Illustration as my major. Check out more of his work here

This drawing reminded me of the lear on the face of one of the figures from the vagabond subculture on exactitudes, i highly recommend visiting that site.

James Jean

Hey so I have been wanting to begin sharing the artwork and websites of my favorite artists with the readers and followers of the Maniquill blog and radio show for a while. Who better to start with than my favorite Illustrator and fine artist: James Jean.

Born in Taiwan but raised in New Jersey, James Jean has already carved out quite a prolific name for himself at the age of 30. Since graduating from The School of Visual Arts in New York city he has gained seven Eisner awards, three consecutive Harvey awards, two gold medals and a silver from the Society of Illustrators of LA, and a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators of NY. For anyone who doesn't know much about Illustration or these awards then.... well pretty much hes done very fucking well for himself and has produced such a prolific body of work in the 9 years since completing his schooling that he is a major attraction at Comic Cons and other annual art conventions from around the world including Australasia's very own Semi-Permanent, where he has attended and spoken twice so far, both of which I've missed out on because I've been too broke at the time to go.

Some fashion enthusiasts may be familiar with his work for Pradas spring/summer collection last year. But anyway I strongly encourage everyone to have a look at his website and his blog, both contain some truly amazing work.

Also about the Radio show and Podcasts: Through a series of unfortunate events we were unable to locate the audio files of our radio shows for a few weeks. People at the station kept changing stuff with the program the station uses and yeah, we searched but couldn't find anything. Last week was a non-event for reasons we are to embarrassed to go into. But we will endeavor to post this weeks Podcast as soon as we can and are working on our second Maniquill Mix tape, so keep a look out for both in the coming days.

Podcast 08

Podcast 08 is here. Apologies for the lack of podcasts recently. You know...

shit happens

All Rainbows Over Here

Yeasayer have a new single out for free download. It's called 'Ambling Alp', and it's as rad as anything. I'll probably play it on the show, but click on the picture to source a good quality version which you can play over and over.

P.S: Matt, where's the pickled ginger illustration at yo? He might need to listen to this song for a pick-me-up after he sees it, poor boy.

Mala laka ya ya keee YAA!!

Truly Fantastic. I can't wait for this movie. Wes Anderson is my favourite director by a long shot, directing many films we all know and love, such as Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Darjeeling Limited. Now he is adapting Roald Dahl's age old classic Fantastic Mr. Fox in his first full length stop motion animation film. I'm super excited. Also check out this clip from the film, my very favourite.

Blwrlaa whlaa laa psssttt slrulllrrrrrrr pssttt gggrrrrrrrrr laaa grra grrrraa psssstttt grraaaaaa

Here is something to have a look at. I FFFFOUND! this guy scrolling some images and thought I should post it up for you. The artists name is Julian Beever, and he has been doing art such as this on the streets all around the world for over ten years. Some of the illusions that he creates are amazing considering it's all just chalk...

Podcast 07 with the track listing for our shitty New Zealand accents

F*ck Buttons - Surf Solar (Radio Edit)
Transmission - Takeoff
Elemeno P - Fast Times in Tahoe
The Chameleons - Second Skin
Health - Triceratops (CFCF Remix)
The Boo Radleys - Spaniard
The Buzzcocks - Fast Cars
Geino Yamashirogumi - Kaneda (Akira Soundtrack)
Vivan Girls - Where Do You Run To?
Geino Yamashirogumi - Exodus From the Underground Fortress (Akira Soundtrack)
M. Ward - When I Get To The Border (feat. Zooey Deschanel)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
Thirteenth Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me
Batrider - Dad
Atlas Sound - Shelia
Secret Knives - The Transformer
Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear
Lightspeed Champion - I Could Have Done This Myself
Clint Mansell - We're Going Home (Moon Soundtrack)
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

Dead

Hello. Firstly we would like to apologize for the lack of posts, podcasts and mixtapes. University = busy. The last Maniquill episode was not recorded properly so alas no Podcast this week.

Click on the above cover image of Dead Mellotrons 'Ghost Light Constellation EP' to download the EP for free. He released it himself for free via mediafire (it is actually his link you'll use).

I don't have time to describe/ review it sorry but just Google it, other people have done a decent job, used long words and witty analogies in their descriptions etc. All I am going to say is that I highly recommend that you download it and listen to it.

Check out his Myspace here.

HEDI

For times when you are trying to find interesting ways to waste time on the internet.

FIRE IN CAIRO!

Manic Quill

I don't really know what to say...

Aggggghhhhh MANIQUILL!

Maniquill Podcast 05

Podcast 05 coming atcha!

Maniquill Podcast 04

Here is the fourth Maniquill podcast to wrap your sexy ears around.

Good Health

Here's the video for the Health song 'Die Slow', which we played on last Wednesday's show. It's gory as: this woman is like sacrificed for the band, and then the crowd like jams about in her blood in a ritualistic ceremony. Then they all kind of die. But it's arty, so it's ALL GOOD eh.

Maniquill Mixtape 01

Because Handsome Furs ripped us from our radio show last week (and as a result there was no podcast for you to download on Saturday morning) we are posting the first Maniquill Mixtape.

This mixtape is largely comprised of music from the Dream Pop and Shoegaze genres. However it doesn't JUST contain all the hits of the Slowdives, the Jesus and Mary Chains or the M83s of the Dream Pop/Shoegaze genre - it also contains a number of tracks by less known but no less brilliant artists.

This mixtape is a background noise, summer orientated mix. We post it now in the hope that you listen to it enough that it becomes familiar, and that some/all of the songs become a staple section of your summer soundtrack. Please note that this is by no means a definitive 'Maniquill Summer Mixtape'.

With in the File you download you will find a txt file with all of the mixtape information. Not only are the songs, artists and running times listed but both the sequence in which the songs play out and the starting time of each track are also included. You will find that the audio track is riddled with this information, just incase you ever accidentally delete or want to delete the txt file.

ENJOY.

Sit On This!

Our good friends George and David are putting together an exhibition with a difference. 'Sit on this!' makes a custom-made stool the medium, for you to paint, sculpt, break or mould as you will. Find out more at their blog, and tell the boys you're keen on it here. Be active, get involved and create your own lil' masterpiece!

Maniquill Podcast 03

Click on the picture above and enjoy the third Maniquill podcast. Albino pigs need love too...

Now in mp3 format as well. Talk about the best of both worlds.

Cartoon Ultra-Violence

Jirat James Patradoon is an Australian-based illustrator and print-maker for the MTV generation. His bio runs like this:

"James' work explores his take on fantasy hyper-masculinity with portraits inspired by Japanese Manga, slasher movie villains, pro wrestlers, biker gangs, and Elvis.

His intense comic book styled images have appeared in magazines such as ESPN, Complex, Acclaim, Empty and ILOVEFAKE. As well as in collaborations with Adidas, Diesel, MTV, PepsiCo and Mambo."

I get the feeling this is the sort of thing you either love or hate. Anyway, if you love it, go check out his website.

Maniquill Podcast 02

Here is the second Maniquill podcast. Be gentle

Doubilet Doubilet

I don't want to smother you with photography sites. But I really wanted to show you this site of Dave Doublet, one of my favourite underwater photographers. A lot of his imagery not only amazes, but is surreal. He does a lot of photography for National Geographic (pretty much my dream job); interestingly he incorporates a lot of human elements into his photography, which can make for some unique images. I particularly like his black and white, and half and half shots. Put on a nice song and have a look.

Something a little different.

Someone to checkout.

Gemma Booth

Gemma Booth is a UK based photographer. She took this picture of Dizzee. Her portfolio is probably one of the best I've come across, not to mention her website's design which is simple genius. And her blog may not be the most frequently updated thing on the internet but it is very, very interesting. I've often used her images subjects as a reference for drawings I've done in the past because all the photos are so large and well shot.

Maniquill Podcast 01

The first recorded session of Maniquill is now available (click on the image above to download it). The podcasts are now edited with chapters for your listening pleasure. We will record our shows weekly and continue to podcast them, for all those people out there that can't stay up late enough for the show.

Enjoy

King Rat

There has been much talk recently over the unfinished Modest Mouse video clip King Rat, directed by none other than the late Heath 'why so serious?' Ledger. I can see why, just click on my whale friend and he will take you to it. I think Mr. Joji Morishita of the IWC should see this.

This song rocks my world. This video rocks my world. My world is rocked. Enjoy.

The Art of the Dead

My flatmate Nina today showed me this amazing book called 'The Perfect Medium - Photography and the Occult'. Back the 1890's-1930's a whole bunch of people believed that cameras could reveal the spirits of the dead, and some photographers set up practices in which their subjects could have their pictures taken with ghouls and spectors.

Tropicália Fairy Tales

Os Mutantes are a psych-pop band that formed in the 1960's. To be honest I don't know a huge amount about them. By all accounts the band weren't all that popular in their day, especially outside of their homeland of Brazil. But ol' shotgun-face Cobain loved em in the 90's. So there you go.

A new short film is on youtube about them - it's pretty SPACEY and made-up, but it is good and it's narrated by Devendra Banhart. Have a look below, and read more about Os Mutantes here.

Plow

Karin Dreijer Anderson

Above: Karin Dreijer Anderson

Below is a 22 year old Karin Dreijer Anderson (The Knife, Fever Ray) and her old band Honey is Cool. The video clip is of the bands single 'Nach Heart', from thier 1997 Album 'Crazy Love'. It was a follow up to the bands first album, "Focky Focky No Pay"...




This song has a very post 'The Bends' pop sensibility to it. At 2 minutes 46 seconds the song erupts, led by Andersons voice. The distorted guitars are made more dense by the My Bloody Valentine like droning jabs that pair up nicely with the slightly drenched siren-like solo sitting in behind them. Blah blah blah, wank wank wank.

Anyway, note: the pirouetting bald guy with a 'sides' mullet, the reference to Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video, the Flaming Lips-esk animal costumes and the vibrant red lips of Karin's that remind me of Gwen Stefani's lips in No Doubt's 'Dont Speak' video clip.


I don't get the lyrics at all: "I've got a neat, miraculous sheet and purr, I bet it comes from underneath" but it sounds nice when she sings the words in that thick accent of hers so I don't really care. Maybe the words make more sense in Swedish?

I don't know if this music is good or average or whether I would have ever come across it if It wasn't for Honey is Cool's mention in Last FM's description of Fever Ray and The Knife. All I know is it reminds me of being a kid, and that nostalgia alone will make me keep listening to it. According to the clip comments on Youtube people either love it or hate it. Or (like me) they listen to it because it has some connection with The Knife and Fever Ray.


Here are some of the more intriguing comments:

mbvglider Why are people going on about the Knife? Honey is Cool is the best band ever, don't you know that?

dozzyy I didnt like anything about this.

hungh0rse THE KNIFE is UNFUCKABLE ! ! !


Compared to the creative space Anderson occupies now, 'Honey is Cool' seems very optimistic, youthful... mid-nineties. Unlike alot of artists that brought out music deemed 'relative' in the mid-nineties, Anderson seems to have gone the way of Radiohead - during the 12 years since '97 and '09 her sonic sensibilities and creative intelligence have both evolved, and have since propelled her to the edge of what I would call 'avant-garde' (at least as far as pop music goes). In terms of creativity versus age it's awesome to see someone at her age (with two kids and about to hit 40) still pushing her music to new levels and releasing a body of work I'd call inspiring.

To find out more/understand what I'm talking about click here and you will be directed to a really good interview with Karin Dreijer Anderson recently posted by Drowned In Sound.

Eclipse Broadcast

Sorry to post video after video, but this is something you need to wrap your eyes around. It was made to mark the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century.

Luke Steele, you cosmic god!

Lightspeed Champion: The C3P0 of the music world... Golden

This is clip from one of Lightspeed Champions shows at last years SXSW, in Austin, Texas. A great song, and a great cover. His hat is so much sweeter than mine...

Elizabeth Weinberg

This photographer is from NYC, take a look. It might even be worth checking out her blog

Ben Rayner

A british photographer who works in music, fashion, the usual.

Stephen F*cking Malkmus

Is playing a show in the gutter of a city that is Auckland.



P.S: the Verlaines are supporting.

road trip?

Look! A flying Nun!

Anyone interested in a bit of New Zealand music history? Click the image & check out this site Tallyho.

Loads of old scanned gig posters, magazine ads etc. to peruse, fantastico

Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun

Darwin's Rottweilers

The Rakes - 'We Are All Animals'