May 22, 2007
"Cave Rulz" Episode 1
What happens when a group of Flash developers and programmers in the interactive department of a major global advertising agency's New York office release pent-up creativity in the form of an episodic video comedy series about their work area? "Cave Rulz" ... that's what happens!
Posted by Supercore at 11:16 PM
Star Wars Holiday
This Friday marks the 30th anniversary of the ground-breaking (if overrated) science-fiction blockbuster "Star Wars." May 25th is 30 years exactly since the first theatrical release of George Lucas's series of movies playing out the epic saga of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vadar, Yoda, and several generations Jedi knights in their war pitting "the force" and "the dark side." From Thursday through the weekend, a massive convention for "Star Wars" fans will be held in Los Angeles to celebrate the landmark film. May the force be with them.
Posted by Supercore at 07:45 AM
May 09, 2007
Video: Graffiti Writers Flash-Tag a Subway Train
This looks a little too staged, a little too easy, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. And the speed and coordination with which this group of taggers throw up these massive pieces of graffiti on the train (while it's still in the station, mind you) is like a carefully choreographed ballet. Impressive, in spite of it being total vandalism.
Posted by Supercore at 11:07 PM
April 20, 2007
Sport: An Rare, Incredible Goal by Lionel Messi of Spanish Soccer Team Barcelona FC ...
Posted by Supercore at 01:39 AM
April 16, 2007
The End of Tonic - The Best Experimental Music Venue of All Time
Tonic, our favorite live-music performance space ever, has closed its doors in the Lower East Side of New York City. The venue was special in part because of the variety of music artists who performed there and because it was one of the few places in NYC to see experimental music. It was a home for many avant-garde and contemporary experimental jazz musicians. An official farewell is on the Tonic website. The club is closing due to the rent increases that have forced may a small business to close in the now ultra-hip Lower East Side, where the pace of gentrification has been mind-blowingly swift and driven real estate prices and rents sky high. A New York Times article published Monday provides the full back story. Over the past few years, we've seen acts as diverse as Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon, John Zorn, Menlo Park, Morricone Youth, Japanther, Arto Lindsay, Yoko Ono, Vincent Gallo, Damon and Naomi, many a Japanese noise band, various incarnations of bands involving various members of Sonic Youth, and more.
Photo courtesy GlobalGraphica.com
Posted by Supercore at 11:47 PM
April 04, 2007
Grand Theft Auto IV Announced, Trailer Released ...
Few things get us as excited as the announcement by games producer Rockstar Games regarding the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series. "Grand Theft Auto IV" is on its way, kidzzz -- and that promises mo' better GTA to get you through the day. The new title will be rolled out October 16, 2007. When Rockstar make this announcement a couple of days ago, it also released a trailer for "GTA IV."
The game series has evolved dramatically through the "GTA III" phase, which saw the release of the original GTA III (aka, Liberty City), Vice City and finally the epic San Andreas editions. Between Liberty City and San Andreas, the game has grown and improved tremendously.
Meanwhile the evolution of the new crop of higher-performance gaming platforms, from the Microsoft XBox 360 to the new Sony PlayStation 3, have upped the potential for bigger, richer, faster games with even better graphics. It's only fitting that the Rockstar team would revisit Liberty City and develop the game environment to a larger scale and on a more fully visually realized level.
The word is that the Liberty City of "GTA IV" will be a more detailed and realistic carbon copy of New York City (albeit four of its five boroughs plus Jersey) in every way except the actual names. And this time around the main character will be an Eastern European immigrant. Can't fucking wait for this release, dude.
Posted by Supercore at 11:25 PM
April 02, 2007
Celebrity Gossip Linkage to Kick Off the Week ...
Anna Nicole Smith's Partner Howard Stern Gives Up Effort to Stop DNA Paternity Test ...
Creator of Life-Size , Naked Choclate Jesus Looks for New Home for His Confection ...
Usher to Get Married to Long-Time Girlfriend ...
Black Eye Peas Singer Fergie Reveals Lesbian Past ...
Sanjaya Markala and the American Idol Scandal in the Making ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:16 PM
March 27, 2007
Bicycle Polo in New York City
Bike messengers, bicycle enthusiasts and hipsters converge at a park in the Lower East Side of New York City for some urban, two-wheel polo. The game originated in Ireland. If you love traditional polo but can't afford a stable of horse, bike polo may be the next best thing. This realtively obscure sport has its own association, the BPAA, in the U.S. and its own cup competition.
Posted by Supercore at 11:42 PM
March 18, 2007
Street Art from Neckface in New York City
From the Global Graphica site ... fresh street art from NYC, including new images of works from Neckface on the Lower East Side of New York City. Rock it.
Posted by Supercore at 01:07 AM
March 07, 2007
And Speaking of Naomi Campbell ....
The ex-supermodel has said that she will never have plastic surgery, unless she was disfigured in a "bad accident." Who gives shit? Well, actually, we do enough for a brief comment anyway...
Naomi Campbell is now 36 years old. That's not even within the "coveted" 18-34 years-old target marketing demographic that advertising wankers are always babbling on about. And Campbell hardly trades in the kind of runway and photo work she used. She is becoming increasingly irrelevant as a media and fashion commodity.
But it doesn't matter -- she looks fucking great! She shouldn't being even thinking about whether or not she needs plastic surgery. Her looks are fine as they are, especially for her age. It's Campbell's personality that needs plastic surgery, not her face and body. She's got to do something about that wicked temper of hers.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:03 PM
February 28, 2007
Video: Graffiti Writers on Venice Beach
Cool clip of a group of graf writers working on massive pieces in Venice Beach, in Los Angeles.
Posted by Supercore at 11:06 PM
February 22, 2007
Shepard Fairey's Paste-Ups at 11 Spring St., New York City
Over on Global Graphica we've posted a bunch of images from the recent street art exhibition at 11 Spring Street in New York City. Included are these images of massive art works by Shephard Fairey of "Obey/Giant Has a Posse" fame. Good stuff. Check it out, y'all.
Posted by Supercore at 11:47 PM
February 20, 2007
The Mixtape Dilemma of DJ Drama, the Aphilliates and the Hip Hop Music Business
Another great, illuminating article in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine was about the recent bust of mixtape megastar DJ Drama and his posse of DJs and mixtape entrepeneurs, lncluding Djs Sense and Cannon. Drama who is one of hip-hop's most influential tastemakers is perhaps better known to the wider public for his work with rap star Lil' Wayne. His Atlanta studio was raided in January because of his alleged music piracy, mostly in the form of mixtape CDs containing unlicensed music and samples by other artists. The irony is that the bust was aided in part by the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents many of the same recording labels for whom DJ Drama is unofficially contracted by to manufacture mixtapes to promote its signed roster of hip-hop artists.
Posted by Supercore at 11:20 PM
February 16, 2007
Going to The Archive: Top 5 Video Games for ADD Moments in the Studio ...
1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games)
2. The Getaway (Sony Computer Entertainment)
3. Grand Theft Auto III: Vice City (Rockstar Games)
4. FIFA Soccer 2004 (EA Sports)
5. Sim City 4 (Maxis)
Posted by Supercore at 07:16 AM
February 12, 2007
Going to the Archive: 2006 Xmas - Hanukkah Wish List (in Progress) ...
1. Apple iPod Nano - It's sleek, it's sexy, it fits in your shirt pocket.
2. Palm One Treo 700p -The latest Treo with the best form factor and full QWERTY keyboard yet.
3. X-Box 360 - Amazing screen resolution. Wow! Microsoft got it right. Now if only they could do something about the quality of Windows.
Posted by Supercore at 01:30 AM
Going to the Archive: Our Top 3 Favorite Cell Phone Ring Tones at the Massive...
1. "Old Phone" on a Cingular Sony Ericsson T616 cell phone.
2. "Star Wars" Theme on a Verizon Kyocera 3035 cell phone.
3. "Milkshake" by Kelis on a brand-spankin' new T-Mobile Nokia 3595 cell phone.
Posted by Supercore at 01:28 AM
February 08, 2007
Video: Music by 8-Bit Band Anamanaguchi
Anamanaguchi are one of a dzoen or so bands who make up the nascent 8-bit music scene. In 8-bit, musicians use 8-bit electronic equipment -- old computer, Nintendo GameBoys, whatever from the prehistoric age of basic computing -- to create a sound palette. Anamanguchi run traditional instrument through sequencers and filters to pump out the blippy and bleepy 8-bit sound.
(Domo arigato to Chris for the tip.)
Posted by Supercore at 07:48 AM
February 02, 2007
Geniuses Behind "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" LED Ads Give Surreal Press Conference ...
The avant-garde artists and guerilla marketers who were arrested after installing myseterious LED ads for Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," give a surreal, ridiculous press conference upon emerging from jail. It's pure theater when a couple of guys tell -- with the straightest of faces -- a throng of reporters that they will answers only questions pertaining to "haircuts in the 70's."
Posted by Supercore at 12:49 PM
January 17, 2007
In Japan: Graffiti and Street Art in Osaka ...
Over on the Global Graphica website, we've got a whole bunch of new images showing graf, street art and mor from Osaka, Japan. The graf in the picture above is in a fenced-off area in the Kita-Horie neighborhood of Osaka. (Photo Courtesy of Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo. All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 04:04 AM
January 04, 2007
An Air Massive Happy New Year From Osaka, Japan
Hope everybody had a great winter break and a happy New Year! All the best to ya' in 2007! The new year sees Air Massive in Osaka, Japan for a couple of weeks. Here 2007 is celebrated as the "Year of the Boar" in accordance with the adopted Chinese zodiac calendar. Look for postings on Japanese pop culture in the coming weeks. The picture above is of an annual New Year's fire ritual at Hozenji Temple in Osaka. (Photo courtesy of Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo. All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
December 14, 2006
The Last Stand of Street-Art Landmark 11 Spring Street
The building at 11 Spring Street in downtown New York City has been a landmark and mecca for ephemeral street art, attracting artists from around the world. The mysterious building, also known as the "Candle Building," appeared uninhabited for many years, during which time wheat-paste posters, installation art and graffiti went up, went down, got covered over or faded away in an ever-unfolding ebb and flow of street-level expression. The building was recently purchased by a group of developers who will turn the building into luxury condos. Sensitive to the artistic significance of the building, the new owners have worked with the global street-art massive to to organize one last exhibition of art on the exterior and interior of the building before the rennovation crew come and start re-developing the structure.
Posted by Supercore at 02:31 AM
December 01, 2006
2006 Blip Festival Powers Up in New York City
A while back we posted an item about an electronic music group from Poland called Gameboyzzzz. The band records and performs music composed of the blips and bleeps that emanate from a half-dozen or so Nintendo Gameboy handhelds. The band is one of many to emerge as part of the global "8-bit" music scene. This week sees the kick off of 2006 Blip Festival, or "BlipFest, a four-day event in New York City celebrating and showcasing the work of musicians and artists who, like Japanese duo Portalenz pictured above, use low-bit videogame and computer hardware to make music and video. While Gameboyzzzz themselves will not be performing at BlipFest, dozens of other artists from all over the globe will be. It's going to be electric. It's going to be sublime. (Domo arigato to Chris G. for the tip!)
Posted by Supercore at 01:30 AM
November 30, 2006
We're Back from the Thanksgiving Break
Yup, the Air Massive is back along with our official feline mascot Cornelius (pictured above). We took some time out from the Massive to celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday and to max and relax in New York City with guests from Tokyo.
Posted by Supercore at 10:25 PM
November 16, 2006
Video: Street Artist "Cheeky" at Work in NYC
The street artist Cheeky was puting the finishing touches on a big piece he put up last night at that famous 11 Spring St. building in downtown New York City. The new work was put up in a massive new wave of street art going up on the building this past weekend.
Posted by Supercore at 12:21 AM
November 03, 2006
Video: Kenny Powers' Quest to Jump Car Over the St. Lawrence River
In the early 1970's Kenny Powers, a Canadian daredevil, attempted one of the most idiotic stunts known to humankind. Powers tried to drive a rocket-powered and winged Lincoln Continental off a massive ramp and over the mile-wide St. Lawrence River and the border between Canada and New York state. The stunt cost an estimated $1 million and resulted in ... well, you've just got to watch the video. Note: watching this we were reminded of the incidental music used in an South Park episode about the founding and beliefs of the Mormon religion ... dumb dumb dumb dumb duuuummb dumb!
Posted by Robsam at 02:34 AM
November 01, 2006
The World's Largest Skateboard Mega Ramp ...
Brazilian pro skateboarder Bob Burnquist has built the largest skateboard ramp in the world in the hinterlands of suburban San Diego. It's called a "Mega Ramp." Get this: it's about eight stories tall, 360 yards long and has a 70-foot gap boarders must sail over. Here the video clip that accompanies the New York Times article on the ramp.
Posted by Supercore at 11:06 PM
October 28, 2006
Video: Media "Creatives" Goof Off with BMW Toy
See this what those crazy creative folks who work in interactive media in New York get up to when they're brainstorming ideas or have idle time on their hands.
Posted by Supercore at 03:23 AM
October 23, 2006
Starbucks "Salon" Brings Culture to the Latte-Set
Satrbucks recently opened a new type of coffee shop called Starbucks Salon. We visited the one in SoHo, New York City, recently and it's a big, impressive, and arty two-floor Starbucks space complete with coffee bar and an added professional performance space and stage. The Seattle-based coffee retailer and chain has been putting and out selling CDs for years and recently entered the movie business. This is the subject ofan interesting New Times article about the "Starbuck's aesthetic." Which makes us wonder about the extent that a business like Starbucks can play a role as arbiter of popular cultural tastes and patron to the arts. For many Starbucks plays a unique role in their lives. It's not only a place to buy and consume coffee but it has become for many people an extension of their living room, den, study or library. The very spaces that we often relax and consume culture in their homes.
Posted by Supercore at 07:38 PM
October 13, 2006
The End of CBGB's
Though by now it's no surprise, the official last day and final performances at legendary downtown New York City music venue CBGB's have been confirmed. The club is closing after 33 years in business due to the end of its lease. The full cryptic name of the club is CBGB OMFUG, which few seemed to know were initials that stand for "country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gormandizers." The club has still been a very active venue in the decades since it was the epicenter of the downtown new music scene, the place most associated with the rise to fame in America of bands such as The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Television and Patti Smith. Sting and The Police, as well as the Sex Pistol's Sid Vicious, had once played the club on early US tours. And many famous acts have played there early in their careers, including the Beastie Boys and The Strokes. But the most important and relevant venues for New York's underground and emerging music scenes have long since moved to other clubs thoughout downtown Manhattan and, more notably, throughout Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which seems to have more musicians either living, recording, rehearsing or performing in a half mile radius than anywhere else in America. Everyone is mourning the closure of CBGB's, but in a sense it died a long time ago. CBGB's is now a brand that can be found on t-shirts worn in suburban middle America to suburban Tokyo. That owner Hilly Kristal is considering re-opening CBGB's in Las Vegas says everything about the value of the name and its future. Neverthless, the club is a New York institution and an icon of underground music. CBGB's Gallery, an adjacent space, has already shuttered it's doors for the last time. This weekend CBGB's will too, R.I.P.
Posted by Robsam at 12:21 AM
September 14, 2006
Everybody Needs a Holiday
Yes, it's been quiet here on the Massive the past couple of weeks since we've been on holiday -- a well-deserved, sorely needed vacation on the windward side of Oahu island, Hawaii, where we have friends and fam. Now we're back in New York City, back in the grind, back in the naked city, back in our downtown Manhattan digs, rested, refreshed and ready to get the Air Massive crunked.
Posted by Supercore at 01:12 AM
February 13, 2006
Go, Shorty ... It's a Snow Day ... We're Gonna Party Like It's a Snow Day ... Go, Shorty!
Yup. It's a massive snow day here in New York City. The Massive couldn't resist a walk in Central Park on this record-breaking snowfall weekend. The shots above are opposite views taken from the same spot in Central Park, in the Cedar Hill area at the southern end of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Fifth Avenue.
Happy snow day!
Posted by icorsa at 12:00 AM