Mission Mission

I wrote a lot of it in Washington, DC, last fall, and recorded pretty much all of it on a beach in Queensland, Australia, earlier this year, so I’ve been thinking it didn’t have much to do with the Mission.

But I live most of my life here in the neighborhood of course, and I’ve been working on this blog most every day for years and years and years, so… you be the judge, if you want:

(I did a whole marathon of posts about music yesterday and then realized I hadn’t blogged about my own, so here you go, please enjoy.)

Yeahhhhhhhh!

[via Abby]

[via Mike Chino]

The dunes are coming for us! Nature’s fury! (Remember what happened last week?)

[via DJ Primo on Instagram]

[via Capp Street Crap on Twitter]

3D City is a year long stereoscopic photography project by Doctor Popular

A couple weeks ago, Christine and I hiked through Pinnacles National Park. I’d been climbing there several times before, but this was my first day hike through the park. I’m really not much of a hiker in general, but we had a great time and I was happy to bring my Nimslo 3D camera along and a roll of Lomography’s super-weird LomoChrome 35mm film.

LomoChrome is an experimental film that sort of uses the same technique as redscale film (which is just the effect you get when you invert a roll of color negative film and shoot it from the other side), but somehow extracts more of a purple/light blue hue in the process. I kind of dig it, especially for capturing a place strange and beautiful as Pinnacles. Huge thanks to my friend Rob Reeves for scanning this roll for me. He’s got the magic touch with film.

(more…)

Remember how excited I was when I discovered the music of William Onyeabor a few months back? (And how like 10 guys in the comments mainsplained to us that they had discovered his music before I had?) (Just kidding guys, I love you all.)

Anyway I popped into Explorist International on 24th Street to buy a King Sound Quartet single I’d seen there and had been thinking about for a while (it was in the “$$$” bin) when I noticed the big colorful “Who Is William Onyeabor?” 3-LP set in a box right up front. (The version of it on Spotify is missing the third third, which contains my favorite song of all, “When the Going Is Smooth and Good.”)

When I added it to my haul, the clerk took note, thought about it for a second, and then recommended I check out the music of Francis Bebey. Specifically this LP up on the wall:

So I got it and it rules and since apparently we’re doing nothing but music posts on Mission Mission today, I figured I’d tell you about it.

Listen to this for goodness’ sake:

(Also, props to the same clerk for remembering off the top of his head that the King Sound Quartet LP, which neither of us has even seen since like ’97, came in a DJ sleeve and had a side-long “Space Is the Place” cover on the B-side.)

Remember how excited I was the other day to learn that one of my favorite corner stores, New Hampshire Market on 20th at Hampshire, had started making KILLER pulled pork sandwiches? Well when it rains it pours…

I popped into Tony’s Market an hour ago, ordered a couple sandwiches from the Pal’s Take Away counter, grabbed some Popchips and a Guayaki, and while I was checking out, spied a handmade display full of records and tapes by local band Future Twin. I picked out a couple items and added them to my haul. The staff were very pleased.

Got back to the office and listened to Future Twin and ate these sandwiches:

This song “Lockits” rules, check it out:

And be sure to pick up a copy of your own next time you’re at Tony’s.

Buenos Dias bonitas 💖

A video posted by Melissa D. Gordon (@mellyg14k) on May 2, 2015 at 1:09pm PDT

B. Hamilton, the straight-faced rock ‘n’ roll band fronted by never-straight-faced Oakland-based social commentator Ryan Christopher Parks, has been putting the finishing touches on this thing for about 2 years I think. And it was worth it.

It’s a gem:

If you like it, tell your friends.