UBUWEB

UBUWEB started out in 1996 as a website devoted to concrete poetry, but it has grown to incorporate the functions of a virtual publishing house, record company and, film distributor. Poet, university professor and amateur archivist, Kenneth Goldsmith is the founder and main editor of Ubuweb. An underground project that has no institutional backing or budget of any kind, Ubuweb is an influential repository of avant garde material

Here you can find conceptual writing, dance, electronic music resources, ethnopoetics, film and video art, visual poetry and many special features. Examples include all ten albums from Obscure Records , Brian Eno’s record label from 1975 to 1978 and Six Films by and about Pina Bausch(1975 - 2006)  in UbuWeb's new Dance section (Christopher Walken dancing to Fatboy Slim anyone?) There we can review works from the career of Pina Bausch (1940-2009) including the beautiful  Orpheus und Eurydike (1975) and a documentary by Anne Linsel, Pina Bausch (2006). Other delights include: Maya Deren's complete oeuvre, a montage of Banksy doctoring Paris Hilton CDs for last year's guerrilla art stunt, interviews with Allen Ginsberg, poetry readings by Bukowski and a selection of rare art films and performance videos by artists from Carolee Schneeman and Tracey Emin to Samuel Beckett and ChrisBurden, video of BillieWhitelaw doing Beckett and  excerpts from Peter Greenaway's series of documentaries on modern UScomposers

A full list of resources is here

http://www.ubu.com/resources/index.html

Twitter is @ubuweb

Punk!!

 Last week BBC 4 aired a documentary called 'Evidently...John Cooper Clarke ' (on iplayer until 11th June only) . It records and celebrates the  life and works of John Cooper Clarke, punk poet, looking at his life as a poet, a comedian, a recording artist and revealing how he has remained a significant influence on contemporary culture over four decades.

The John Cooper Clarke  documentary  is just part of  a whole range of  programmes  for a Punk Britannia season to be found on  BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music . The season marks 35 years since punk's heyday in 1977,  the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

A new three-part documentary series on BBC4 spanning  1971-1981 maps some of the uncharted as well as the more familiar territory of Punk .

BBC Radio 6 Music is providing a range of curated shows  from some of punk’s most iconic names, alongside a series of themed shows. On Friday 1st June 12am-1am it all kicked off with John Lydon . As a teenager, Rotten Lydon (as he wonderfully refers to himself in the show) announced himself to the world as the focal point of British punk.
This BBC music blog gives more information on Punk Britannia programmes.
Interviews , archive concerts and exclusive new performances from the Punk Britannia season can all be found here

The Arts Desk

Anish Kapoor’s Leviathan, a commission for the Monumenta series at the Paris Grand Palais

Here's a great newletter to keep you up with a wide range of items on what's new and good in the media and the arts . Here you will find theatre and film reviews, features on matters of interest such as  'Is Classical music relevant?'or a list of this year's Festivals , and CD, DVD and book reviews and interviews with people from the arts and a comprehensive listing of whats on in cinemas, theatres, galleries and concert halls. Sign up and get a weekly round up of all this in your inbox. As well as seeing  the very latest in the arts you can also view the archives of the newsletter. To subscribe look for the box on the right hand side of this page halfway down

Smithsonian Folkways

For access to a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions comprised of an unprecedented variety of online resources go to the Smithsonian Folkways website here. From this webpage you will be able to search and identify recordings of all types of music , or search for recordings of a particular artist or for music using particular instruments. Links from these search results allow you to sample and  if you wish purchase the recordings as digital downloads. The database also includes recordings featuring the spoken word: humour, scientific and historical topics, poetry, birdsong and much more.

For UWIC staff and students: there is a link to this website on  the Subject Guide for  Music Technology