The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 21
Slightly nervous this week as a beloved family member goes into hospital. I’m assured all is going well but still, yannow, a guy worries. I’ll try not to let the fear of mortality and the ever-ticking clock that counts the seconds of our lives get in the way of a cheery discourse.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
The Book Of English Magic by Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate. A great mix of history, interview and practical instruction. I’m not sure ownership of this one volume would give you all the tools you need to become a working practitioner of magic but it could certainly set you on the path. A fascinating look at some of England’s secret, dark history.
Rob is watching…
This is how different parts of the street kitchen in El Matareya, Egypt work in order to prepare thousands of iftar meals pic.twitter.com/Kv9vwJyLcD
— Insider Food (@insiderfood) June 23, 2023
The thing which hit me about this brilliant bit of foody journalism is the moment you realise all the cooks creating the food for when the Ramadan fast is broken cannot taste their own cooking. They have to go on experience, skill and yes, faith. I found this riveting.
Rob is listening…
to Queens Of The Stone Age. I love Josh Homme and co’s wonky, polka-rhythmed racket and the new album is as solid and vibrant as a bone cage. Let it roar.
Rob is eating…
Jungle curry from Caversham’s excellent Thai Table. Spicy like you wouldn’t believe. In this weather, man’s gotta sweat some to stay cool.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Who are The Churnups? Worst kept secret in music, but still kinda cool when their black-metal style logo morphed into the familiar Foo Fighters roundel. Turns out you give them an hour at Glastonbury and they can push out a tight little set!
Michael Marshall Smith goes all Proustian on us. His madeleine? The humble Indian snack food which has somehow become ubiquitous across the globe. Even thinking about them inspires the memory of flaky pastry giving way to a soft, gently spiced interior. It’s 8 in the morning and I could wolf a plateful right now.
A great piece of writing from Michael Gerber in The American Bystander, perfect for Pride Month—or any other time of the year. Really nice evocation of character, mood and place.
Gods, I could stick a post by Ted Gioia in every episode of The Swipe. He’s that good. I’ve been trying to hold off but this, on how dreams and the subconscious influence art in general and music in particular, is properly mind-expanding.
A lovely use of web tech to inform and entertain. On the surface, we’re shown how innovative hip-hop producer J Dilla built his beats. Underneath, we’re getting a sneaky lesson in music theory and the power of rhythm. Boom bap.
I don’t always nightcap, but when I do, it’s brown liquid in a good, heavy glass with a big chunk of ice. Other drinks to wrap up an agreeable evening are, of course, available.
Everything moves in cycles, often so interleaved that you can lose track of the overlying cog-work spinning away. We know, thanks to Marilyn, about the seven-year itch. Turns out it can apply to more than just the mid-life crisis…
These tiny builds of classic old school computers are simply adorable. I would cheerfully have a line of them along my desk. They hearken back to the time when tech had a bit of personality.
Speaking of which—after the talk about Apple’s foray into AR last week, how’s this for a step change in interface technology? You could strap a clumsy pair of goggles onto your head—but why would you when the option to use your actual desktop as a desktop is available? I think this is very cool.
Synth musician and baby mamma to Elno Muskrat, Grimes has been exploring AI in playful and exploratory ways. Her latest idea? A toolkit by which you can create your own minor deity. This, to me, hearkens back to some of the lessons in the Book Of English Magic. The Art is not hidebound to ancient tomes and artifacts. You can, with the right mindset and through sheer will and determination, create your own system which will do what you want. The lines between ritual, performance and programming have never felt so blurred.
Lastly, another form of art, built through interaction, conversation and community. Mierle Laderman Ukeles has taken the invisible work undertaken by half the population and that stigmatised by its very nature and brought it up to the surface. It’s simple but in terms of scale and commitment to a long-term payoff, devastatingly effective.
The New York Sanitation Department’s Artist In Residence
I’d love to say today’s Outro caps off the thoughts we’ve considered today on the unseen patterns, rhythms and people around us, but heck it, John Doe’s Golden State just popped up on The Feed and I had to listen to it three times on the bounce. It’s just a really great love song, clear and honest about the bad as well as the good. You are the lump in my throat, Readership.
See you in seven, true believers.
