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Above: Robert Edgar Broughton of the Edgar Broughton Band. Wasted blues from 1968 till the present, after starting as a more straight head blues band in the late 60’s, and what British rock group didn’t start that way, the Broughton Band let things get a bit looser and ended up twisting Howlin’ Wolf and the MC5 into some sort of anarchist free blues heaviness. Charting in the UK, their most popular single foreshadowed mashups of today, nonsensically mixing a cover of The Shadows’ hit “Apache” with a raw take on Captain Beefheart’s “Apache Dropout”. Here’s an ealier live performance, minus the “Apache” sections.

Speaking of 1968, the new issue of Aperture Magazine showcases famous and striking photographs from 1968.

Drawing: The Nonist digs up drawings by people suffering from various psychological afflictions. The lettering sketchbooks of Linzie Hunter. Aza Raskin’s Algorithmic Ink paints organic patterns within your browser using the Javascript port of Processing.

Some sort of disorder, or perhaps a bit too far left of wasted: hypnotizing footage of the infamous Royal Trux stumbling mightily through radio IDs. Five Dials, a magazine. Abandon NASA Photography by Richard Harrington, snapshots of decaying futures (via MB). Even more ghostly, Vincent Fournier’s Space Project channels Solaris, Sputnik, and the modern world’s vanished dreams of not so long ago.

Nina Katchadourian stacks books to creates meaning (via Coudal). A full album of outtakes for download from drone conjurer Jefre Cantu-Ledesma’s out of print Shining Skull Breath.

Easier and cheaper than a whiteboard plus a projector: transparent Post-Its (via Torrez). Guidelines for Online Success by Rob Ford, published by Taschen. Ford attempts an all encompassing analysis of completed successful online projects, I look forward to viewing a hardcopy. Sometimes it can be inspiring to see a site’s humble genesis, ink and all (via TMN).

I’ve been under the spell of Blues Control for some time now. The meandering boogie guitar adrift on seas of keyboard arpeggios, hushed with soothing tape hiss and field recordings — this duo has a take on new age that shuns the digital slickness coming out of the electronic camp. And while that has its place, there is an unmistakable grime and to this ambience coming from Queens that I’ve yet to hear attempted anywhere else. At times the groove sets in, and you wonder if the disembodied boogie riffs emanate from the vinyl or through your downstairs neighbor’s old Mountain records floating through the floorboards. When that feeling hits, it’s endless riffing and celestial keys for all.

Semi-Complete Blues Control Discography

• Self Titled Cassette (Palsy)
• Split with GN’R Cassingle (Uzi Suicide)
• Riverboat Styx Cassette (Fuck It Tapes)
• Puff LP/CD (Woodsist/Fusetron)
• Self Titled CD/LP (Holy Mountain)
• A Full Tank CDR (Managing Expectations) compiles the first cassette, split cassette, and a track from the WFMU set
• Bored Fortress #3 Split with Heavy Winged 7” (Not Not Fun)

Keep an eye out for upcoming singles due out on Sub Pop and Richie Records.

Extras: Live in the studio at WFMU, Live at Big Jar Books on March 27th, 2007, Live in Austin on March 19th, 2007, White Tapes, label run by Russ from Blues Control, Collective Voice podcast feature with Blues Control phone interview.

Above video captured by Mark Schoneveld in Philadelphia on June 15th, 2007.

Caedmon, the Scottish folk band responsible for one of my all time favorite folk rock records, has been born again. While I remain skeptical of any new recordings (as always in these situations), the very least we can hope for with this reawakening will be an official, widely available reissue of their lone self-titled album. Caedmon was released in 1978, more than half a decade after the first wave of British folk-rock broke, and clearly shows the influence of the Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Steeleye Span’s modern interpretations of traditional folk songs from the British Isles.

There’s something that sets it apart though. An eclectic mix of sounds, the album has a charming everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach- acoustic instrumentation mixes with cello, organ, fuzz guitar, primitive percussion, and more. The analog recording adds a warmness and intimacy (which may or may not be emphasized by the source of the bootleg LP copy I own). The vocals of Angela Naylor weave amongs the mellower passages, blending with the voices of the other band members like some melancholic choir a-caroling. The song “Aslan” shines the brightest here, full of dueling guitar and cello leads it’s staccato rhythm propels it at a pace where it seems the band might fall off the tracks. Truly the most compelling of their arrangements, the intricate counter-melodies and arresting interplay in between the members found here create an a haunting urgency.

A new official website contains quite a bit of info on Caedmon form the members themselves, which may be a the first for a one-off private press cult band. The smashing of an original of their much sought, $500+ album shows they are not too interested in reliving/living off of the past, so perhaps the spirit lingers.

Elsewhere, an interview with the Melvins courtesy of Joe Preston, published in his zine “Matt Lukin’s Legs” from the late 80’s. Happy 50th, Jello. Musicogenic Epilepsy: seizing to Sean Paul. Not quite as serious, obsessive compulsive media libray cataloging.

Some photography: Cinerama, a photoset. Alexey Titarenko’s City of Shadows captures kinetic energy as ghostly shadows. More haunting images from Martina Hoogland Ivanow. Portraits of people and pouring, Meg Wachter’s Dumped!. WhereWeDoWhatWeDo collects photos of workspaces. The mesmerizing peril of Mark Thiessen’s forest fire photography for National Geographic (via Shoot!).

Magcloud allows one to publish and distribute a magazine from a PDF file. Will there be a resurgence in zines thanks to the long tail?

Bullit, a theme for NetNewsWire. The Wrong House: The Architecture of Alfred Hitchcock, a book (via We Make Money Not Art). The fabulous Mystery on Fifth Avenue, a house as clues (as seen throughout the web but worth another link).

In Japan, QR codes are being embedded on gravestones, creating a URI for accessing photographs and videos of the deceased via cellphones. Those who have strolled through cemeteries, wandering through aisles of strangers will wonder no longer. Mobile technology before death: cellphones now allow scientists the ability to track human movement much more precisely. The studies have revealed that the patterns closely follow power laws.

Two interesting news visualizations: TimesMachine allows you to flip through New York Times front pages back to 1851. Big Picture, a news blog exploring the power of a single image. It consists of a large format AP photograph selected from breaking news stories.

Photos of the Titanic from the Library of Congress. The artwork of Yellena James. The photography of Cecile Bortoletti and those represented by AR Photographic Agency. Wild Light: a wildlife photography blog.

Until the Kingdom Comes: artwork by Simen Johan. The Sea Inside: psychedelic ink drawings by Maia Valenzuela. The art of David Haines, who tarnishes delicate pencil drawings with gum, mosquitoes, and blood.

An interview with John Gall on book cover design, including some of his favorites.

Alton Kelley passed away this week. Kelley’s work with Stanley Mouse and the Family Dog collective has become iconic of the Summer of Love. Their psychedelic blend of a hodgepodge of found visuals and intricate lettering graced the covers of albums by the Grateful Dead, the Steve Miller Band, and Journey as well as numerous posters and handbills.

More 1960’s counterculture, but conveyed through architecture: Drop City, Solux/Lama, the Prickley Mountain gang, etc.

Arresting retro noir and gloss photography from Alex Prager’s Big Valley exhibition. Her blending of Hitchcock peril and golden suburban sheen are currently being shown in the UK at the Michael Hoppen Gallery.

Other recent ogling: Wonderland, a magazine. Photo reps: New Blood Agency. The wooden scenes of Alison Elizabeth Taylor. The art of Graph drome.