For the people who like a wobbly g-string on their guitar to play more expressive I have three versions of the wonderful tune Claire de Lune by turn of the 19th/20th century composer Claude Debussy.

The first is a theremin version with the ultimate degree of pitch modulation.

The second is a violin version with the moderate pitch vibrato that the movement of the left hand permits.

The third and last version is played on harmonica and for me is the winner in the emotion (and sound) department.

So in conclusion: there’s more to an emotional sound than shaky pitch.

The good people at TED dedicated a whole website to the plastic pollution problem. Here’s a video I just watched there featuring the Malloy brothers reporting from their extensive visits to countless beaches and surf breaks all around the world.

Here’s some background on “safety” at oil companies, in this case BP. Tthey really have to to cut costs at any price – or this is what the managers learned in business school.

More at the Frontline homepage.

artefact of extinct culture and people: Easter Island Long Ear Statue

In this video Jared Diamond is talking about the collapsing of societies. He shortly mentions new facts to account for the happenings to the Easter Island people and more recently the Salomon Islanders. I find this stuff highly interesting, what about you?

https://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse

More on easter island by Jared Dianmond.

A very quick and simple test to see what the practise of BP did to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Update:

According to this journalist the spraying of corexit ist still continuing at this point (video uploaded September 17th 2010). He also reports on the consequences for the area residents.

In case you are not aware, what goes into the foodchain stays in the foodchain. There is no other place to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxjeyrIUgqY

via Pacific Longboarder

A while ago I posted a link to the work in progress, here it is now filled to the brim.

200 Exotica Music Videos on YouTube

Surf Guitars Oldschool Deck by Mr_Miff
Get a skateboard at zazzle

I only heard good things about this years Surfguitar 101 convention out in California.

Here is the Surfguitar 101 YouTube playlist of the event.

This time german band The Space Rangers made an appearance there as a stop on their California tour. The band hails from Ulm and on guitar is Muck who played rhythm guitar on one tour with my old band The Looney Tunes. On that tour I borrowed him my Musima Eterna DeLuxe as he only owned a Steinberger headless and a jazz-box. It’s great to see him finally sporting a Jaguar. I knew the Surf-bug bit him when he started doubling my lead on Miserlou during one of our shows, and checking out the playlist from the convention I reckon his new band plays old showstoppers from the Looney Tunes setlist The Swingin’ Creeper (as it is tradtionally called in Germany, elsewhere known as Nightstick*, A Go-Go Dancer**, Kickstand*** by The Ventures) and Stampede. Talk about keeping the torch on fire.

* UK, ** US, *** Japan

This is a “Mondo”-style movie, today this genre would be called “docutainment”. The subject is life in Hollywood during the second half of the 60s. With this southern California theme we get lots of surf-music along with some surfing and skating. I find the whole thing quite entertaining, and think it projects a vision of a town in transformation, when some people had other plans than becoming a movie-star or starlet.

If I’m remembering correctly the guitars are played by Davie Allan.

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