Le silence n'existe pas!

John Cage and Raashan Roland Kirk - Sound?? - 1966

via ubuweb

A joyful noise to you from the wild west.

Will Rogers Talks to the Bankers

Will Rogers TALKS TO THE BANKERS.

The Content Trap

Back to the Middle

We're back in the middle west, looking forward to eating the big bird and give thanks and try not to talk about small pox blankets or anything... This has been an exhausting one, but as always the PEOPLE make it amazing... More stories soon if we can muster the proper words... For now, some more cell-phone pics...

Once again, TONIGHT we drop a secret show in OBERLIN above the copy shop. Tomorrow: AKRON Tuesday: CHAMPAIGN and a super ILL show at the Empty Bottle in CHICAGO the day before the feast.

-BOYZ

ohio- daily life

"Great Cleanliness appears dirty, Great Straightness appears crooked" - Triple Forgues Hand:


skylab show was outtasite as usual, thanks to aaron and all the dudes

secret oberlin show tonight above the copy shop

Funky President Everybody

What a week. Halloween at the Zebulon was off the shelf, and we kicked off our tour West Baltimore style with friends Sejayno and Fakers. The WB is still ill as all, but we heard word of hyotes in the area so we blasted off through the midwest, watching our first halfrican president with patient pride and tears of pumped. Now we're really out there, beyond the dilatory magnetism of global chaos zone NYC, in Jason and Tony's hometown of Denver. WILD WILD WEST BABY.

let's all hang out c'mon

Nov 8 GLOB w/ Pictureplane, BDRMPPL, Modern Witch, Dugoutcanoe Denver, Colorado
Nov 9 Kilby Ct. w/ Danielson Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 10 Someday Lounge Portland, Oregon
Nov 12 House of Nostromo Oakland, California
Nov 13 Eagle w/ The Mayyors San Francisco, California
Nov 14 The Smell w/ Nite Jewel, David Scott Stone, Vienna Noise Choir Los Angeles
Nov 16 Scoot Inn Austin, Texas
Nov 17 Club Dada Dallas, Texas
Nov 18 TBA New Orleans, Louisiana
Nov 19 Eyedrum Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 20 Secret Squirrel Athens, Georgia
Nov 21 Pilot Light Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 22 Skylab Columbus, Ohio
Nov 23 The Gypsy Hut Cincinatti, Ohio
Nov 24 Akron Matinee Akron, Ohio
Nov 25 Mike and Molly’s Champaign, Illinois
Nov 26 Empty Bottle w/ Elliot Bergman (NOMO), Lazer Crystal Chicago, Illinois
Dec 4 Velvet Lounge Washington DC, Washington DC
Dec 5 Fordham University Bronx, New York

Words...

RCRD LBL!

" Skeletons, the Brooklyn group who’ve recorded for our bros at Ghostly in the past, are putting out a record on Tomlab called Money that’ll likely work for both dispositions. Their collapsing, Pollack-like jazz punk—kind of like The Jesus Lizard covering Loose Joints with more chromatic tones—can be full of cathartic tom fills one minute and then lull off into la-la land with horn parts that sound like they have wings attached to them the next. In other words, it's totally bi-polar but one-hundred-percent jamming."

LINK

Tower of Sleep!

"Brand-new song from the brand-new album by one of the most underhyped bands in indie rock. Abstract, big-band art-pop with a heap of electronics and a free jazz approach to jamming and freakout. They started out as a synthy dance band, then stepped up into some skinny Prince grooves before mixing in a pleasant helping of fractured tropicalia and afrobeat on last year’s Lucas. This time around it’s less dance and more abstraction. If the Dirty Projectors aren’t “difficult” enough for you, this is your band."

LINK

Pittsburgh City Paper:

"The first proper song, "The Things," is a rousing groove whose guitar rhythms suggest both Captain Beefheart and Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow, and whose sonorous horns seem to borrow a bit from the old Batman TV theme. Synths, theremin and choirs swirl impulsively in and out of the frenetic funk, as the singer asks, "Why would I want to know ... these things the children of rich men know?""

LINK

Cleveland Free Times:

"Most pop music is frustratingly pedantic. It should be possible to write a catchy song that doesn't use the same samples or effects used in every other artist's songs. It should be possible to integrate technology with traditional rock instrumentation to create nuanced compositions that reward repeat listens but can still be whistled. And it should be possible to include every sound, rhythm and melody, regardless of genre, to enhance a song without being pigeonholed as noise, electronica or world music. If you share any of these concerns, then $keleton$ is the band for you."

LINK

Baltimore City Paper:

"Skeletons-a pleasingly weird New York outfit that does well running assorted global music ideas, out-jazz, and improvised groove through a demure indie-rock"

LINK

The great music tabloid! NME:



Looks like so far this time around we have: Jackson Pollack, Jesus Lizard, Loose Joints, Prince, Dirty Projectors, Jeff Beck (!), Captain Beefheart, Psycho soundtrack by Bernard Hermann, and Modest Mouse. We'll keep a running list going...

SEE you in the BIG COUNTRY in the coming END DAYS.

With Love and Empathy, true as the average, broke as a joke,

-Skeletons

HALLOWEEN

Tomorrow night we will be playing a real terror of a show at Zebulon in Brooklyn, NY with a production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Dome Theater. Also appearing: Extra Life. Come dressed as your favorite ghoulie: toilet ghoulie, dino ghoulie, tairy ghoulie, tree ghoulie. We will have vinyl and CD copies of our new record, MONEY, for sale as well as freshly printed T-SHIRTS designed by Justin Craun that frankly look amazing. We will be touring the United States of America thereafter selling and re-selling these wares so come see us play and GET SSOME.

ZEBULON ZEBULON ZEBULON ALL HAIL DIE NASTY.

Oct 31 Zebulon HALLOWEEN Brooklyn, New York
Nov 1 Golden West w/ Fakers (mems W. Williams/Ecstatic Sunshine) Baltimore, Maryland
Nov 2 Garfield Artworks Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nov 3 Beachland Tavern Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 4 Arbor Vitae Ann Arbor, Michigan
Nov 5 Av-aerie Chicago, Illinois
Nov 6 CBGB St. Louis, Missouri
Nov 8 GLOB w/ Pictureplane, BDRMPPL, Modern Witch, Dugoutcanoe Denver, Colorado
Nov 9 Kilby Ct. w/ Danielson Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 10 Someday Lounge Portland, Oregon
Nov 12 House of Nostromo Oakland, California
Nov 13 Eagle w/ The Mayyors San Francisco, California
Nov 14 The Smell w/ Nite Jewel, David Scott Stone, Vienna Noise Choir Los Angeles
Nov 16 Scoot Inn Austin, Texas
Nov 17 Club Dada Dallas, Texas
Nov 18 TBA New Orleans, Louisiana
Nov 19 Eyedrum Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 20 Secret Squirrel Athens, Georgia
Nov 21 Pilot Light Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 22 Skylab Columbus, Ohio
Nov 23 The Gypsy Hut Cincinatti, Ohio
Nov 24 Akron Matinee Akron, Ohio
Nov 25 Mike and Molly’s Champaign, Illinois
Nov 26 Empty Bottle w/ Elliot Bergman (NOMO), Lazer Crystal Chicago, Illinois
Dec 4 Velvet Lounge Washington DC, Washington DC
Dec 5 Fordham University Bronx, New York

MONEY fun facts

With MONEY less than a week away I thought I'd share this nice story about money:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Letters containing white powder that were sent to more than 50 financial institutions warned that "it's payback time," the FBI said Thursday.

Officials said most of the powder-laced letters were sent to branches of JPMorgan Chase.

"Steal tens of thousands of people's money and not expect repercussions. It's payback time. What you just breathed in will kill you within 10 days. Thank [word redacted] and the FDIC for your demise," said one letter released by the FBI on Thursday.

Most of the letters contained a powder that the FBI said is harmless.

But sending the letters is "a serious crime," even if they are a hoax, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said in a statement.

More than 50 letters were received this week at financial institutions in 11 states and the District of Columbia, the FBI said.

The letters were all sent from Amarillo, Texas, to branches of Chase Bank; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures bank deposits; and the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision, a regulatory agency. Not all the letters contained exactly the same wording, the FBI said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 "for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible."

"Law enforcement will continue to work to identify and arrest those responsible," Kolko said .

As of Thursday, financial institutions in New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, California and Arizona have received the letters, the FBI reported.

Kolko said that field tests on the powder included in the letters have found no sign of a hazardous material but that additional tests were being conducted.

Most of the letters have been sent to branches of JPMorgan Chase, one law enforcement official said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.


Also less than a week from now, there's something about presidents, here's two fun facts:

Sarah Palin's (rhymes with my last name) make up artist makes more money in half a month than I make in a year.

And possibly a helpful context:

Gross National Product:

Malta: $5.49 billion

Madagascar: $5.37 billion

Cambodia: $5.34 billion

Spending on Fall 2008 U.S. Elections: $5.3 billion

Burkina Faso: $5.24 billion

Mali: $5.12 billion

Nicaragua: $4.97 billion

Bahamas: $4.92 billion

NOV. 4! Vote MONEY!

Love,

SKELETONS

A BAND CALLED "MONEY"

AND THEY'RE OFF!

Money
The Skeletons
Tomlab

After listening to the meandering mess of the lead track "Fill My Pockets Full," it should become obvious how awful this record is going to be. Money’s sixth full-length release drowns the senses in an overwhelming flurry of unnecessary instrumentation, evidently with the sole goal to portray the band as desperately weird and different. Lead singer Matthew Mehlan’s inane warbling immediately reeks of a lifelong obsession with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, and the record quickly spirals into a cluster-fuck that sacrifices the band’s potential in favor of a lost-cause effort to be the next Zappa. The overindulgent opus "Boom! (Money!)," kicks off with a barrage of blistering bass lines and chaotic drum beats that jarringly transition from a funk-infused blowout into a free jazz session that has no place in the song. With all their varied influences and obvious signs of musicianship, it’s simply sad that Money decided to give up on any semblance of cohesion and narrative. They try way too hard to be something they’re not: interesting.

-Max Gelber
From Bay Windows

Jon's Awesome Tape

Jon passed along a S I C K! tape from Morocco he grabst in his time there - to the fantastic Awesome Tapes from Africa blog...



Awesome Tapes from Africa


Better check it, and pour out a l'il liquids for our man Jason - who's keeping it real in Tanzania right now... Once he's back we'll be seeing y'all across this big country...

True as the average,

-Matt

"The Things"

It is now possible to download "the THINGS!" as freely as you do anything else in this life.

Option click or right click or click how you wanna click on this jazz murder mystery font.



VOTE "Money" on this very important election day: November 4th, 2008.



More to come!

True as the average,

Skeletons

Ohhhh my Illuminated One

Bloods, not sure if Jojo already upped this Glory already but it deserves to be posted again, posted again, posted again. sixteen minutes and it still feels impossible




van morrison - summertime in england

and just part of what he's talkin on about




mahalia jackson - amazing grace

oh, sufferin' so high!
tones

RIP Mauricio Kagel

Batty in the studio?




Antithese

1965, 19 minutes

16mm

SO many amazing films by Kagel are up on UBU: HERE.

And some audio: HERE.

Here's our alma mater Oberlin's Percussion group doing "Dressur":



Dude was hilarious,

Love,

Matt

Last summer breeze

CCCChilly winds abound in the Apple!

IN MEMORIAM of a deep summer, here's an 80 minute mega-mixtape of jamaican music i made... full sound system stylee...the desert island 45s...HAIL JAH



download

Love,
Professor Deejay Rainstick (Tony)

$100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"We got next"

There was an awesome shout out from one of our most favorite of heavy rollers, the Charlie Looker of Extra Life, in Time Out NY last week.

Czech it!

HERE

-Jojo

Not Ketchup

Last week I woke up early, as I do every other day to move our van (in the never ending dance with street cleaning trucks and traffic cops) and found this:







Love,

Matt

Breakin' News

Here is an mp3 stream of a current "eccentric pop" radio show from Radio DavidByrne.com on which Skeletons are featured not once but twice. it is a great honor for us to be featured in this way. David Byrne, Talking Heads, and Brian Eno (among countless others) paved the way for music like ours to be made today. Please listen it's free!

Who's got the Power?

2008 Drummers

!!

"MONEY"

This is the cover of our new record "MONEY". It's entering the world in October VIA the fantastic TOMLAB label: http://tomlab.com

We're touring this big U.S.A. starting on Halloween.

This is a new episode of SKELETONS TELEVISION, live from Glasgow/Amsterdam/Cologne/Brooklyn!

And in non-youtube form:HERE.

ALSO, here's an excerpt of an incredible film by HENRY HILLS that I just saw the other day at work, found a clip on youtube... Also called "MONEY":

True as the average,

Skeletons

Coming home

Believer Music Issue

The Believer's annual Music Issue is out now and we're super-excited to be on the DISK that comes with it!

Some of the illest musics from all the reaches of the world... ie. Tartit, Mahmoud Ahmed, Animal Collective, Googoosh, Dirty Projectors, Madlib, Gang Gang Dance, and more and more and more. Sick interviews with Alan Bishop and Ian Mackaye too...!

You can checks the notes on the Compilation here:




then, check this out.

then this.

and finally Maximum Sorrow.

New Old Video

I thought I'd finally pull some of these things out the archive/graveyard of old computers and hard drives in support of the new SHINKOYO download store stylings. The video, made back in 2002 (before youtube right?!), for the song "my friend drowned in his own vomit" from "life and the afterbirth". You can get the album in mp3 format now for a donation of your choosing at SHINKOYO!



Also, check out this photoshopping.

BORN AGAIN!

Shinkoyo's been RE-BORN this summer, new releases spewing forth!



One a week until the Summer's end!

Monday June 30th : Mario Diaz de Leon "Mira"

Monday July 7th - Doron Sadja "Sotto Voce"

Monday July 14th - Holy Gold "Holy Gold"

Monday July 21st - Symbol "landspacewaterfaith"

Monday July 28th - Regattas (Sam Hillmer) "Garudas"

Monday August 4th - The Holy Experiment

Monday August 11th - Zeljko McMullen "Red and Blue"

Monday August 18th - Severiano Martinez and Mario Diaz de Leon "Still Point"

Monday August 25th - MV Carbon

Really some amazing records we've been wanting out in the world for long long times!

They're being released via our new SHINKOJUKO, a note from the head of our PROMOTIONS dept:

"The SHINKOJUKO features free streaming of
Shinkoyo releases from 2002 to the present, as well as a
pay-as-you-wish store for downloading Shinkoyo albums - 1 cent to
infinity $$!"

YES!

Also the earth is shrieking!

http://www.space.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=080627-earth-sounds

With Love,

Skeletons

UBU!

Probably one of the greatest websites in this universe, in this year 0200008 - UBUweb has recently added some of the killing-est shit for yus music fiends and friends...

Derek Bailey's Improvisation doc for the BBC (checks the book if you haven't! - this has been up here for a while, as well as the Greenaway below...)



Music With Its Roots in the Aether by Robert Ashley. This is newly added and totally unbelievable. Only the Landscapes are here, which is only half the piece (1 hour Landscape interviews, 1 hour performances...). Ashley milks a goat with Terry Riley, overlooks SF bay with David Behrman, and tells Phil Glass how kids seem a little bit like aliens to him! Yes!



Four Composers by Peter Greenaway. This was something we watched in school: Cage being awesome, Ashley doing "Perfect Lives", Meredith Monk doing "Dolmen Music", and P. Glass slow mo headbang cues, talking about how they'd tour and only their mom would come to the show...



Television!

One more, rounding up!