Okay. It’s been a while since there has been any sort of official update as to what’s going on in the world of the Industrial Jazz Group.

The truth is that I’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from you. Here are a few of them.

Secret the first.

Chris Schlarb — of I Heart Lung fame, Asthmatic Kitty fame, and, well, too-many-credits-to-list-here fame — is going to produce the next IJG record. Which is very exciting to me, but maybe a little surprising to you, given that I have never before enlisted the services of a producer. And given too that Chris and I may seem, to the casual observer anyway, to be coming from slightly different musical vantage points.

To which I say: exactly. After all, I could sum up my entire artistic endeavor with the IJG as an attempt to bring congruity to incongruous things.

Although Chris and I actually share more common ground than you might think. Consider this:

If I’m completely honest, I will admit that I listen to far more music from the 70’s than any other decade. Between masterful albums from Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, The Isley Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Donny Hathaway, Brian Eno, Steve Reich, and Devo, I get most of my nourishment from music that was made over 30 years ago.

Again: exactly. Me too! And those may have been the very sentences that sold me on this collaboration.

Anyway. Still no release date on this record but I’m guesstimating it’ll be out sometime this summer.

I honestly can’t wait.

Secret the second.

I recently hit upon the weird idea to record an album featuring PDX-based groups I like, playing re-arrangements of IJG tunes. Sort of in anticipation of the group’s ten-year anniversary (in 2011).

I have posted before on the comparative challenge of writing for groups that are not mine. How much more challenging it is (for me, anyway) to take something written specifically for one group, and to reconfigure it for another. And yet I suspect that may be the best way to determine if something you’ve written is actually any good. (Assuming that musical durability is a good thing.)

The first sessions, which will likely be spread out over the rest of the year, will feature three local artists, each one of them stellar: Damian Erskine, the Andrew Oliver Kora Band, and the Quadraphonnes. Again, I honestly can’t wait.

Secret the third

At long last, and after much deliberation, we have a winner in our video contest. Big congratulations are due to A. Minor for coming up with this truly psychedelic animated visual for “The Job Song”:

Visit the website of this fantastic Vermont-based filmmaker and artist for more on what she does. (I particularly recommend her images for our New England-based weird music brethren, Club d’Elf.)

Many thanks to everyone who participated in this contest. And again, kudos to our winner.

* * * * *

Okay, these are all the secrets I can bear to part with today. Others will follow hard upon, rest assured.

[Photo credit: LivefromAmsterdam]

Okay, I need to know who authored this truly epic reworking of “Howl” for our remix contest.

It was received safely but anonymously via YouSendit.

Dear mystery person: it would be a shame if I couldn’t contact you in the event that you won. Send me an email to let me know who you are! (Addy here.)

Thanks!

[photo credit: Invisible Hour]

The Industrial Jazz Group – Howl (Liquid Art Latin Grunge Mix) by uglyrug

Via the amazing Erin Dollar, a study of feline reactions to bearded men.

It is eminently quotable in numerous places:

Norquist (1988) performed a series of experiments in which cats were exposed to photographs of Robert Bork[1] (not pictured here), a man whose beard is confined largely to the underside of the jaw. After viewing the Bork photograph, 26% of the cats exhibited paralysis of the legs and body, including the neck. An additional 31% of the cats exposed to the Bork photograph showed other types of severe neurological and/or pulmocardial distress and/or exhibited extremely violent behavior. Because of this, we did not include a photograph of this type of bearded man in our study.

While each cat was viewing the photographs, it was held by a laboratory assistant. To ensure that the cats were not influenced by stroking or other unconscious cues from the assistant, the assistant was anesthetized prior to each session. The cats’ reactions were assessed for changes in pulse rate, respiration, eye dilation, fur shed rate, and qualitative behavior.

Interpretation

Cats do not like men with long beards, especially long dark beards.
Cats are indifferent to men with shorter beards.
Cats are confused and/or disturbed by men with beards that are incomplete (e.g., Bork) and to a lesser degree by men whose beards have missing parts (e.g., Crafts).

You’re welcome.