Skateboarding in Afghanistan

SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.

Popul Vuh

I have just become the father to a beautiful little baby girl and I'd like to think that I can now credibly attest to this music's pata-linguistic effectiveness... if I may be so bold. It may just be coincidence (it's not) but each time I've played Popul Vuh to Alina, an eery calm has descended upon the pretty little pickle and her seemingly absent minded ceiling gazing has taken on a special air of purpose, serenity and intrigue.

This first track, the title of which translates as "Oh, how close is the way Hina" was used as the signature theme for Werner Herzog's 1976 film Heart of Glass. Famously during the filming of Heart of Glass, all of the actors were hypnotized and it is a truly strange, beautiful and mesmerizing piece of cinema from what has been coined Werner's 'formative period' -

This second clip is an all time classic piece of psychedelic improv and it sounds amazing on a sunny winter afternoon with a doobie, like almost all good music. I don't know if it gets much better than this dreamy, droney cascade but if it does then could you please let me know where? - awkwardmagazine@gmail.com

I only wish it could last a bit longer.

Screw it...

James Unsworth

"I live in the middle of London"

"I grew up in Liverpool and as a teenager smoked lots of weed."

"I work best at night."

"I read Science Fiction and I also spend a lot of time in nightclubs."

There is so much of this type of illustration in the world that it's tempting to write it all off as nothing more than "more of that scrawly grotesque Shrigley-ish shit", well, it's tempting for me anyway, because I'm a bit jaded.

Anyway, one of those ubiquitous Don't Panic posters showed up when I was clearing out some old boxes of stuff 'n' junk. The one with James Unsworth's name on it almost went in the bin before I'd read his name.

I'm glad I did read his name now, and then google it. His stuff is mind boggling. I don't know if it's the common motifs like the maximalist, psychedelic pen-line elements or what that makes me almost cringe at seeing 'more' of this kind of stuff everywhere (exhibit A), but on closer inspection I am often left feeling like a fool for being so quick to judge. It might just be the doodle-factor. There is a readable kind of rawness to this type of drawing, I think, like you can plainly see the oodles of blase, unconcerned talent just sitting there, dribbling all over the page, smoking a spliff, listening to weird music and not really giving a toss what you think unless it's something good and you want to pay it to be on your album cover.

Does this 'genre' or style of contemporary illustration have a name? Will it ever? Does it need one? Am I five years too late? Are there already way too many versed practitioners for the movement to even need torchbearers? Is anyone reading this? Should I go to bed? Should I start learning to enjoy drawing again?

http://www.jamesunsworth.com

Here is an interview with James from 2007, which gloriously and matter of factly confirms him (in as much as you (read:I) could possibly gather from a brief interview) as almost exactly the sort of dude in the sort of world that I imagined him to be. Well done him, well done his work, and well done my imagination. What a lovely little love (read:stoned) triangle.