Oh no - the real doozy is my copy of Singmaster's Notes on Rukbik's Magic Cube. The text was typewritten and published in 1981.

Scientific American hailed the text as "The Definitive Treatise" of Rubik solutions.

I haven't read it... because I don't have an engineering degree.

I clearly remember wanting a Rubik's cube for Christmas as a kid. Thank god I never got one because it would have been the most disappointing gift I never used for more than ten minutes ever.

Something Special for Close Personal Friends of Al
 

I'm really upset with Pledgemusic because they know so very well that every few months, they shoot me an email saying, "Hey! Remember that thing you love? From way back in the day? Well, check this sh*t out!"

Pledgemusic is a direct-to-fan music platform, and their sole focus is raising funds for musicians. They don't get their grubby hands into ownership or rights over the content, they encourage artists to contribute to charities as part of their projects, work with artists to offer all sorts of exclusive content to pledgers, and is accessible internationally to unite fans worldwide toward the creation of wonderful and unique musical items for the most rabid of a band's fanatical followers.

Presently en route to my home is the Orb's Further Adventures Live 2016 25th Anniversary DVD+3LP box set, which was my first encounter with Pledgemusic. But today, they popped up in my email saying... "Psssssst! Look at the thing!"

Now available for pre-order is something special for Close Personal Friends of Al Yankovic. Having grown up with every Al album from his self-titled debut to the present, my nerdcore childhood would never have been the same without him. And to celebrate his discography and 34 years of mandatory fun, Pledge has pulled out all the stops and created the ultimate Al treasure.

SQUEEZE BOX, as it is titled, contains all 14 studio albums plus a bonus Medium Rarities album of demos and rare tracks. All albums have been remastered and pressed on 150-gram vinyl. The set also includes a 100-page collector’s book of rare photos and memorabilia.

It is available in multiple levels of insanity, the highest of which includes a signed test pressing of your choice of any one of the original 14 studio albums, a Zoetrope-animated turntable mat, retro-style "WEIRD Al" pennant, a magnetic build-your-own-Al, Commemorative t-shirt, and a CUSTOM PAIR OF WEIRD AL SOCKS!

And for $1500 they'll ship you a signed test press of every one of the albums in the collection... though all 27 copies quickly sold out.

And, oh yeah, the entire set is packaged in a custom-created replica of Al’s signature accordion!

Shut up and take my money.

http://i.imgur.com/k4ahjTp.jpg

I'll wait for the Pauline Oliveros edition.

.

This is a great read.

:clap:

Do you have the 12-disc Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 box set?

Wonderful! She had not written any short-form essays or manifestos that I've encountered, and I'd wondered why she was missing from The Rest Is Noise and Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music.

I'll have to look that book up. Thanks!

I don't have it but I've listened to it quite a few times. It's really excellent.

Time is Running In
 

On January 5th, a mysterious poster appeared in London, the same day as its website, K2 PLANT HIRE Ltd Poster One.

http://i.imgur.com/1NfcYvCl.jpg

The poster announced the end of the 23-year hiatus, (the number 23 having played a critical role in many of the KLF's works as they relate to the 23-enigma of the Illuminati). This postponement of the K-Foundation was ceremoniously implemented by the duo signing an infamous contract in gold pen across the windscreen of a Nissan Bluebird November 5th, 1995 and the deal was sealed with the act of pushing the Bluebird off a 120-foot cliff at Cape Wrath. 23 years was intended to 'provide opportunity of sufficient length for an accurate and appropriately executed response to their burning of a million quid'.

Further investigation into this exciting new announcement led me to an even more mysterious YouTube account, user WGU 18G, which has been posting cryptic new KLF content since January 1st, when they uploaded a 46-minute video puzzle dubbed, "KLF 01 01 2017 WTF FOUND VHS." Tiny video fragments were posted in the first 23 days of 2017, each a mash up of pop culture film footage recut to speak words like, "KLF" and "Justified Ancients" and "MuMu". Mixed in are footage of Robert Anton Wilson, the Kennedy assassination, other Illuminati symbology, BBC educational film reels, and fraction-of-a-second long superimposed elements intended to reveal pieces of the puzzle... or to lead the viewer entirely off the scent.

And on January 7th, Instagram user @followersofmu uploaded this addition to the mystery:

http://i.imgur.com/NUb8oVBl.png

And today - the 23rd of January brings all of this news serendipitously to my attention on the very day my copy of my literary white whale - The KLF's THE MANUAL arrived at my door from Germany.

http://i.imgur.com/nTnF0qKl.jpg

A week ago I decided that it would be foolish to let any more months pass, permitting the few remaining copies of this massive text listed for sale to be snatched up by other collectors. I quickly purchased a copy of the second (and final) edition but was disappointed to see that the giant oversize MANUAL had been reduced to a minute handbook for its reprint and that the author and title were changed to a less-impressive re-wording, (see below).

http://i.imgur.com/LN965Ngl.jpg

Within moments, I located a first edition copy in outstanding condition for only $30 more, which made my decision a no-brainer. In minutes, I'd canceled my order and secured an original for my library.

For those unfamiliar with THE MANUAL, it was published in 1988 and dubbed, "THE MAJESTIC INSIDE STORY OF HOW TO MANIPULATE THE POP MUSIC WORLD." The book instructs the reader to quit whatever band they'll in, sell all their gear, buy the top pop singles of the day, sample them, have a number 1 hit, and be forgotten by lunchtime. The book promises that if you've followed their instructions and don't make it to number one, that they'll refund your purchase.

The first printing of the book is credited to The Timelords, as Cauty and Drummond had just successfully implemented their guide and made it to number one under that moniker with the ridiculous hit, "Doctorin' the Tardis." And they were right - just as THE MANUAL instructs, the track liberally samples the theme music from Doctor Who, Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll (Part Two)", sections from "Blockbuster!" by Sweet and "Let's Get Together Tonite" by Steve Walsh, and neither member of the duo played a single note on the track. Critics hated it. The song was ****e. But it made it to number one.

In the years since the abandonment of the K Foundation, Drummond and Cauty have done some fantastic work. Bill Drummond created The 17 and published a book of its collected writings. Graffiti appeared in Derby with messages like this:

http://i.imgur.com/BIeu7lWl.jpg

And soon thereafter, a series of posters were created to convey the concept of The 17.

http://i.imgur.com/bTPAHyDl.png

Meanwhile, Cauty continued his anarchistic art, most recently with a touring art installation dubbed The Aftermath Dislocation Principle (ADP) Riot Tour. ADP is a massive graffiti-covered shipping container with small lenses positioned around its perimeter which grant observers a glimpse into a post-riot dystopian miniature city contained within. Spectators can see flashing lights, police blockades, and the remains of a city torn asunder accompanied by the faint sound of police radio signals from inside the container. The installation toured in from April to December of 2016 and was featured as part of Banksy’s Dismaland. ADP Riot was a larger scale implementation of the theme Cauty explored in 2011 with A Riot in a Jam Jar.

http://i.imgur.com/zUT4m9al.jpg

But all of this - the zenarchistic mythos of the KLF, the Manual, the burning of a million pounds at Jura, their art and music... and 23 years of contractual silence... has led to their return in 2017.

Time is running in.

http://i.imgur.com/VwBl3jAl.jpg

UPDATE 01-24-17: Information from some additional sources appear to dispell the cryptic rumours outlined above. First, on January 5th, The Guardian published an article titled, The KLF are back (sort of) – and it’s exactly what 2017 needs containing the following statement:

Cauty tweeted confirmation of this new material shortly thereafter.

And on 01-17-17, KLF.de posted the following notice:

So for now, we're just Waiting.

http://i.imgur.com/z7AopeB.jpg

New Territory.
 

My future co-host was playing a show an underground gutterpunk show last night so I dropped in to support him and get a taste of the scene.

I was only able to stay for the first two of the three bands, but his post-indie trio was up first. American Homes comprises my buddy on keyboard with a rack of analog modules, his bandmate beating the hell out of a floor tom, and a bassist with some impressive overdrive effects likely borrowed from Electric Wizard and well-suited for doom/drone/noise instrumental music. There was certainly some heavy influence from the stoner drone scene as well as some electronic minimalist oscillations a la Stereolab-gone-post-rock. It was great stuff. Between tracks a newcomer in the crowd asked, “Do you guys like Sunn O)))?” The band's present name is American Homes, but they're thinkin' about changing it.

http://i.imgur.com/tUo7bOW.jpg

The other band I got to check out was Red Ground. The Buffalo-born duo consists of a bassist and drummer, with the bassist controlling various sound beds via laptop. Their web content is tagged with keywords like, “experimental”, “ambient”, “post-rock”, and “protest”, the last of which is evident from their use of field recordings captured from various regional Native American protest events archived on YouTube. Their site reveals the origins of some of these recordings, such as a 2013 protest staged by the Mi'kmaq nation of Elsipogtog against an energy company that was attempting to conduct fracking operations on and near their territory.

Their musical formula holds true to standard but effective post-rock tropes like dark, atmospheric intros, building to deafening crescendos of bass and drums, and then a return to the field recording material from the introduction. What Red Ground excels at is their fusing of elements from both ambient and metal genres, such as the minimal flute drones which open “We're Still Here” coupled with machine-gun-like attacks of a double bass drum in the live version from last night's show. They closed their set with an improve piece - all of it top notch. Check out their music here on Bandcamp.

Despite my enjoyment of the music, I admit that I felt like an outsider at a gutterpunk show. (Judging from the 8 other bearded members of the audience, I was seriously lacking in the threadbare unwashed flannel department.) Cassettes were available for purchase, befitting of the ultra low-fi DIY culture of the event, but I’ll hold out for the 180g virgin vinyl Mo-Fi pressing to come out. Still, I’m definitely glad I attended. It was an eye-opener for sure, and I’m looking forward to the next show in February.

http://i.imgur.com/uR6f84jl.png