DIY Media

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 18, 2004 3:34PM

With all the growth in new technology and media mergers alike, it’s both easier and more important than ever to create, not just consume. As we head into the unofficial start of the weekend (is it OK to start the weekend on Thursday night or does that kind of thing become gauche after you leave college?), two events illustrate the possibilities:

Chicagoist believes there aren’t enough people writing about music solely because they get off on telling other people about a kickass new band and not because they’re drunk on their own perceived power (Jann Wenner, we’re looking at you). The folks over at Glorious Noise believe that "rock and roll can change your life” and everything they do springs from that mantra. So rather than just write about music (because we all know what that’s like), GLONO went the Rob Gordon route and formed their own record label: Glorious Noise Records. The newly minted label is throwing a record release party for Quasar Wut-Wut’s Taro Sound album tomorrow night at the Hideout (with Devin Davis and Darren Hanlon opening and a rumored appearance of a burlesque fan dancer). Quasar Wut-Wut describes their music as the soundtrack to an Edward Gorey cartoon and that's not far off. Samples of the clever arrangements of Taro Sound can be found on the CD Baby and Glorious Noise Records websites.

And arrangements are the bedrock of the work of Paul Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, who brings his art of the remix to the Museum of Contemporary Art tonight and through the weekend. In a show entitled “Rebirth of A Nation”, Spooky takes portions of D.W. Griffith’s masterpiece of racism, Birth of a Nation, and mixes them in with new footage set to “illbient” beats that he's been perfecting in his work for the better part of the last ten years. A post-show discussion follows tonight’s performance. His website features some of his turntable work and a preview of the "Nation" show is up thanks to NPR. Just be ready with an explanation when your boss looks over your shoulder and wonders why you’re running Klan videos in your cube.