überlin

Author: James Glazebrook

  • Music Montag: André Uhl, “Black Box/Outside”

    by

    James Glazebrook
    Category:

    André Uhl live

    André Uhl is one of Berlin’s most gifted electronic producers. Since we last featured him, he’s
    been working on getting his live performance tight, as evidenced by these shots of his moody audiovisual sets. His latest release, out today on Bad Panda records, is typical of his meticulous style, with darkly cinematic synthscapes woven
    through with deep, intricate percussion. Listen to “Black Box” and “Outside” right here, and visit André Uhl’s Bandcamp to download the tracks. Start off your Monday mean and moody!

    AnJem1

  • überlin’s Epic list of podcast recommendations

    by

    James Glazebrook
    Category:

    The eagle-eyed* among you may have noticed that we’re currently “in-between” podcasts.

    *OK, “eagle-eared”. Actually, eagles’ hearing might suck. Which animals have good hearing? Bats, I guess. But “bat-eared” doesn’t sound right, does it? Anywaaaaay…

    We don’t have access to a studio at the moment, so Radio überlin is on hiatus until we can find another space in which to record, or can build our own. If you can help with either of these options, feel free to get in touch!

    But the real reason for this blog post is to share some of the podcasts that inspired us to try the audio medium in the first place. They’ve made us laugh, cry, cry laughing, think, re-think, question our whole outlook on life, and sometimes even our sanity. They’re presented mostly by comedians (who get paid to talk for a living, after all) and explore everything from science and spiritually to hilarious shit stories and beverages (and sometimes hot sauce).

    Tasty! Get your headphones on…

    Berlin

    Berlin Belly*NEW ENTRY!!!* Burp – the Berlin Belly podcast
    A fascinating foodie podcast featuring interviews with the people behind projects like the Kombucha Berlin Society and Kreuzberg’s no-packaging grocery store Original Unverpackt.

    Bits of Berlin
    Tam from the Mädels with a Microphone podcast (listed below) puts on her geek glasses and peeks into the matrix of Berlin’s tech community.

    Hipster and Hack
    The guys from startup blog Silicon Allee take an irreverent look at tech news stories from Berlin and beyond.

    La La La Boom
    As descriptions go, we can’t top this: “A podcast of uncommon refinement and distinction. Recorded in a secret floating fortress in Berlin by two gentlemen of leisure.”

    Mädels with a Microphone
    On indefinite hiatus but worth catching up on, the Mädels dive into quirky and personal stories about Berlin and its inhabitants.

    piffle!
    Recording live at Wedding’s Vagabund Brauerei, American-ish brothers Josh and Noah improvise sketch comedy, music and other nonsense with their guests.

    Radio Spätkauf
    Our favourite destination for English-language Berlin news, opinion and chat. Professionally produced, but charmingly personal.

    This Week in Germany
    Germany-wide news, presented in a magazine format, every week in English. Always informative.

    Walrus & the Bear

    Walrus & the Bear
    The wonderful Wouter, a tour guide and art historian, takes on “the intricate and wildly fascinating city that is Berlin”, starting with the Olympic Stadium.

    Convos

    By The Way
    The ever delightful Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) shoots the shit with guests like Larry David, Lena Dunham and Amy Poehler.

    *NEW ENTRY!!!* The Champs
    The blackest white people, Chapelle’s Show co-creator Neal Brennan and stand-up Moshe Kasher, speak to actual black people from Chris Rock to Questlove.

    Distraction Pieces
    The most thoughtful man in hip hop Scroobius Pip gets deep with guests from fellow erudite Essexman Russell Brand and comics warlock Alan Moore to Wes Borland and Simon Pegg.

    Girl on Guy
    Aisha Tyler (famous for being Lana in Archer and generally entrepreneurially awesome) chats to her (mostly) guy friends and gets them to share their self-inflicted wounds.

    Ronna & Beverly
    Everyone’s favourite fake fifty-something Jewish mothers embarrass their guests with intrusive questions.

    WTF
    Mark Maron speaks frankly with entertainers such as Todd Glass, who came out on the podcast, and Robin Williams, who talked openly and honestly about his struggles with depression.

    UntitledYou Made It Weird
    Pete Holmes gets deep with guests like Henry Rollins and TJ Miller, about love, sex, spirituality and life in general.

    Life, relationships, science and stuff

    Don’t Ever Change
    Funny people reflect on their formative years – their usually-hilarious, sometimes tragic, time at high school.

    Here We Are Curious comedian Shane Mauss learns from scientists and other experts about evolutionary psychology, the science of laughter, the secret life of pronouns and other fascinating subjects.

    OMFG
    Thirtysomethings learn about things like “fleek” and weird Twitter from “the kids”.

     

    Professor Blastoff
    Tig Notaro and friends ramble a lot and play silly improv games in this show which is ostensibly about science.

    Question of the Day*NEW ENTRY!!!* Question of the Day
    Entrepreneur James Altucher and Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner answer random questions for listeners who are “short on time and long on curiosity”.

    Sawbones
    A marital tour of misguided medicine, exploring everything from the weird history of poison ivy to the past popularity of enemas and cleanses.

    This Feels Terrible
    Comedians talking about their relationship history with Erin McGathy, who even recorded her marriage to Community creator Dan Harmon for the show.

    Totally Married
    Elizabeth Laime and her husband “psychic Andy” dole out advice about marriage and relationships.

    Movies

    Comedy Film Nerds
    Worth listening to, if only for their Fury Road spoiler episode, the best analysis of the best blockbuster in recent years. Oh, and all their other great eps!

    Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time. Period.
    An A-Z rundown of the man’s movies, rating the “Denzelishness” of each, and creating a bunch of memes along the way. *single Glory tear*

    Doug Loves Movies
    The superhigh Doug Benson plays the Leonard Maltin game, Last Man Stanton and other movie trivia games before a live crowd.

    James Bonding
    Trust us, you don’t need to be a James Bond fan to enjoy Matts Mira and Gourley nerding out over their favourite film franchise. (to the 007 theme) MattandmattMattandmattMATTANDMATT!

    How Did This Get Made?
    Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas of The League/assorted hilariousness review bad and bonkers movies. And Devil’s Advocate.

    I Was There Too
    Interviews with minor players in major film scenes, like the bus passengers from Speed and the mother from the train station shootout in The Untouchables.

    Maltin on Movies
    Leonard Maltin. On movies. With co-host Baron Vaughn providing a gleeful counterpoint to our Leonard’s thoughtful musings.

    UntitledWe Hate Movies
    Entertainingly terrible (but not terribly entertaining) movies torn apart by a bunch of nerds.

     

    Music

    Analyze Phish
    The late great Harris Wittels (Parks and Recreation, #humblebrag) tries to convert Comedy Bang Bang chief Scott Aukerman into a fan of 90s jam band Phish.

    Get Up On This Matthew Robinson and Jensen Karp AKA MC Hot Karl let you know what music (and other entertainment) you should be up on, and the stuff you should be getting off of. Got it?

    Song Exploder
    Short and sweet interviews with musicians and producers who break down the creative process behind bangers like Converge’s “Dark Horse”, The Postal Services “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” and the Bob’s Burgers’ theme tune.

    Sound Opinions
    Awesome music ‘cast from WBEZ Chicago. News, interviews and explorations of themes like jazz, 80s new wave and This is Spinal Tap!

    U Talkin’ U2 To Me?
    Scott Aukerman talks nonsense and occasionally U2 with Parks & Rec‘s Adam Scott. So meta they even recorded an episode that was a commentary track for their previous episodes.

    Who Charted?
    The cream of the LA comedy scene run down the latest in music and movies.

    Rando

    The Attitude Era podcast
    A celebration of the nadir of WWF wrestling, from the late 90s to early 00s, one pay-per-view at a time.

    Call Chelsea Peretti
    CP’s PC! That’s an abbrev(iation) that might only make sense to fans of this call-in show, in which Chel toys with her fans and runs amok on her ever-expanding soundboard. *jackpot noise*

    The Distance
    Basecamp (full disclosure: I work for them) take to podcasting, with their audio version of their magazine focused on quirky, independently-owned businesses.

    Doodie Calls with Doug Mand
    The poopcast in which people share their equal parts mortifying and hilarious stories of shitting themselves.

    The Indoor Kids
    Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani talks video games and other nerdy shit with his wife, Meltdown Comedy booker Emily Gordon.

    Nerd Poker
    Listen in as Brian Posehn and friends play Dungeons & Dragons.

     

    xplainRachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men
    Because it’s about time someone did. An exhaustive, endlessly enthusiastic chronicle of the ins, outs and retcons of everyone’s favourite superhero soap opera.

    Serial
    The podcast equivalent of Miley Cyrus twerking – the moment the medium hit the mainstream. Proof that investigative journalism might have a future in audio.

    The Smartest Man in the World
    Greg Proops holds forth about sports, politics, music, drugs… any subject you can think of, this smart-arse has something to say about it!

    Totally Beverages
    Devoted to discussions about and taste tests of beverages (and sometimes hot sauce).

     

    Yo Is This Racist?
    Tumblog spin-off with mini-episodes dedicated to answering listener’s questions about whether things are racist. Spoiler: they almost always are.

  • On blogging: The great “viral content” swindle

    by

    James Glazebrook
    Category:

    Günther Krabbenhöft street style original photo

    You may have seen this dashing fellow on the Internet recently. You might have even seen these photos. If you did, the site you were looking at stole Zoë’s photos, published them without her consent, and used them to generate traffic and, most likely, revenue.  

    It all started when So Bad So Good shared some photos to their Facebook page, of the alleged 104-year-old, posing on the platform for the U1 at Kotti. It isn’t clear where they got those images from, as they didn’t include any kind of credit. But we do know that the man pictured, Günther Krabbenhöft – represented by “agents for unique characters”, We Are Unlike You – isn’t 104. More realistic estimates put him at around 70.

    Spotting an opportunity, I commented on the post with a link to our own blog post, a streetstyle shot of Günther walking through Graefekiez. Sure enough, that brought us a lot of clicks – about 40% more traffic than in the previous month – but it also brought the attention of websites that pride themselves on finding and sharing viral content. They refer to it as “sharing”, but we call it what it is: stealing.

    The biggest, and probably the first, of those was Bored Panda (no, we aren’t going to link to them!). We found them via a trackback, a notification that WordPress sends us whenever someone links to one of our posts. Clicking through, we were shocked to see Zoë’s photos being used in a post that (apparently) now has over 180,000 views, 50,000 Facebook Likes, and is surrounded by ads that make money for the site’s owners. Alarmingly, there’s an “Add post” button that allows anyone to create their own article, with terms of use that place the responsibility for copyright compliance on the “author”.

    The offending article on Bored Panda

    Bored Panda set the tone for all the other articles we were able to find through trackbacks and Google reverse image search (which we learned about from @eljojo – thanks!) Have a look here – each of those thumbnails leads to at least one article that has used that image in those dimensions. That’s just one of our three images of Günther, and it doesn’t included photos edited beyond recognition by Google’s bots.

    Most of the articles we found included the 104, many with that weird get-out that “the Internet” is getting its facts wrong, and all featured images alongside ours from sources who presumably weren’t contacted for permission either. A lot of them completely ripped off the “original” Bored Panda article. But, as it’s not their content anyway, why should they care?

    When we contacted Bored Panda, we received an email from the article’s author saying that they’d decided to remove the images. The fact that they responded so quickly, to an email sent via a form that actually has a field for “removal request”, leads us to believe that they subscribe to the school of thought that one should “ask for forgiveness, not permission”.

    Günther Krabbenhöft close up

    Bored Panda were only closing the barn door after the horse had bolted. By the time our images were taken down from that site, they were all over the “viral” Internet. It takes just one website to turn stolen content into fair game, and other sites are happy to rip off photos, as long as they include the name of the source, and a link to it. Those second-tier sites are legion, and rarely have contact details through which to demand a removal.

    A couple of bigger websites approached us for our permission (denied), and, when pushed, a national British newspaper offered an insubstantial amount of money. Given the circumstances, we were almost flattered that people had thought to ask us, but Zoë can’t pay her rent with “credits”, and we can’t build an audience on the clicks of curious people wanting to ogle an apparently ancient “hipster”. Our uptick in traffic came primarily from my comment on So Bad So Good’s Facebook post, and those people won’t be back. If we were playing the same “viral” game as these websites, those clicks would translate into money. But we aren’t – we’re focussed on creating original content.

    And that’s the most depressing part of all of this: watching the Internet cannibalise itself. As soon as one online entity had a “hit” with the Günther photos, everyone else had to have them. Major newspapers and best-selling magazines aren’t above this – everyone wants the hot new thing to post, in the hopes that their improved Google rank will inch their audience, and profits, up ever so slightly. This “viral” layer of the web relies on content creators like us to thrive, but we won’t be able to create the content it needs if we can’t make a living. It’s pretty disgusting to see this up close.

    So where does that put us? We’ve been advised that we are in a position to demand our content’s removal from all these websites, and to even invoice them for the revenue they likely generated from it. But how do you contact a site that doesn’t feature so much as an email address, and what are your chances of getting a response, let alone compensation? Right now, we’re focused on INTERVIEW.de, who aren’t responsive despite me taking to Twitter and Facebook to complain (sound familiar?) We think they’re taking Andy Warhol’s art of appropriation a little too far…

    Let’s be clear: we love it when you share our content. When you tweet one of our photos and @-mention us, you could bring us followers; when you link to our website, we may gain readers. Sharing the photo without a credit isn’t exactly in the spirit of Twitter, but at least you wouldn’t be making money from our creative work. To all our genuine fans, thank you for sharing!

    And to all the people out there creating unique content, keep up the good work. Take solace in the fact that this is one of the few cases of plagiarism we’ve (knowingly) experienced, and it can be traced back to us “putting ourselves out there”. Let us know if you ever encounter anything like this, and we’ll be happy to share our learnings and give you some support. Together, we’ll kick some web ass!

    Günther's kick-ass shoes

    EDIT: INTERVIEW.de have since responded to my Facebook post and taken down the photos. However, I still take exception to them using the photos in the first place. Here’s how that conversation is developing…

  • Don't Stay True: The Betrayal of Bring Me The Horizon

    by

    James Glazebrook
    Category:

    I wouldn’t hold my breath if I was you
    Cause I’ll forget but I’ll never forgive you
    Don’t you know, don’t you know?
    True friends stab you in the front

    Listeners to Bring Me the Horizon’s controversial new album That’s The Spirit could be forgiven for empathising with the emotions expressed by “True Friends”. Knowingly or otherwise, these lyrics – intended by singer Oli Sykes as a typically hardcore response to fake friends’ betrayals – actually anticipated the reaction of many fans, and many more former fans, to the album’s stadium-friendly sound.

    It’s funny how things work out
    Such a bitter irony
    Like a kick right to the teeth
    It fell apart right from the start
    But I couldn’t even see the forest for the trees
    (I’m afraid you asked for this)

    The irony is that Bring Me the Horizon were always headed in this direction. With That’s The Spirit, the band have made the large last leap towards becoming the post-metalcore Linkin Park, but they’ve been on this path for a long time.

    Right from the start, they were rejected by the metal establishment as being too pretty and well put-together to be anything more than scene posers. Sykes, also the founder of alt brand Drop Dead Clothing, became the poster child for a kind of hardcore that Topshop designers could lift from. But BMTH proved they had substance as well as style, with a brutal deathcore sound and live shows that converted bottle throwers into lifelong fans.

    Now those same fans are declaring the death of the Bring Me the Horizon they grew to love. The melody, the hooks, the EDM production, the glimpses of genuine optimism are, for many, too much to bear. And for a scene that rejects “selling out” absolutely, the commercial success that will no doubt follow is perceived as the ultimate betrayal.

    You got a lot of nerve but not a lot of spine
    You made your bed when you worried about mine
    This ends now

    Somehow, no one saw this coming. But less short-sighted fans shouldn’t be too shocked, as That’s The Spirit only marks the latest end point of the band’s evolution. Their breakthrough album, 2008’s Suicide Season, saw them polishing their sound, embracing a more accessible metalcore aesthetic, and augmenting it with electronic flourishes. The re-released Cut Up edition even included a disc of remixes from producers like Toxic Avenger, Utah Saints and a then-unknown Skrillex.

    For 2013’s Sempiternal, Bring Me the Horizon replaced their rhythm guitarist with a keyboardist, and pushed the electronics front and centre. From opener “Can You Feel My Heart” through to the haunting “Deathbeds”, performed for growing crowds at venues like Wembley Stadium, it’s hard not to hear That’s The Spirit coming. If this ends now, it started a long time ago.

    It’s kind of sad cause what we had
    Well it could have been something
    I guess it wasn’t meant to be
    So how dare you try and steal my flame
    Just cause yours faded
    Well hate is gasoline
    A fire fuelling all my dreams
    (I’m afraid you asked for this)

    The originators of metal were no purists; they used whatever instruments were at hand to create their unholy sound. Listen to Hawkwind, likely responsible for the very name of “heavy metal”, and you’ll hear Lemmy’s growl and distorted guitars swimming in a cosmic bath of trippy analogue electronics.

    But then disco came, and the rockers’ reaction to it, which pushed everyone into one of two camps, forcing them into a digital zero-one either-or choice between guitars and drum machines. Even fans of freaks like Faith No More, art punks with a gay keyboard player somehow mistaken for a metal band, kicked back when the group’s experiments reached full fruition. That’s why fans of The Real Thing hated Angel Dust; and that’s why people who tolerated Sempiternal can’t forgive That’s the Spirit.

    The good news for those people is that Sempiternal still exists; for the die-hards, Count Your Blessings is still available to listen to. As for the new album, a band making what can be seen as a wrong turn can’t be blamed for daring to find out what was waiting down that fork in the road.

    Bring Me the Horizon barely listen to metal any more, and they’ve admitted to respecting bands like Linkin Park, who fill stadiums with big, bold, and sometimes heavy, sounds. True artists make the art they want to see or hear, and brave bands will risk existing fans over the chance to realise their vision, and present it to people who truly appreciate it.

    Oli Sykes has come out of struggles like a Ketamine addiction with an appreciation of life in all its shades of grey, all its complicated beauty and bitter irony. And he wants to make music that reflects that. He’s not even 30 and he’s through fucking about. He hasn’t said as much, but you can sense that he’s not going to lose any sleep over so-called fans who are willing to walk away over the expansion of his ambition. For a band that always wanted to be more than metalcore, that’s the real betrayal.

    I wouldn’t hold my breath if I was you
    You broke my heart and there’s nothing you can do
    And now you know, now you know
    True friends stab you in the front

    Bring Me The Horizon Drowned video shoot

    Bring Me The Horizon play Huxleys Neue Welt on 10th November 2015 (tickets).

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  • Let's make Comedy Café Berlin a reality!

    by

    James Glazebrook
    Category:

    Comedy Café Berlin - before

    This is exciting! One of the brothers behind the hilarious piffle! podcast is currently turning this old Kneipe into Berlin’s first alternative comedy stage, the unimaginatively-titled Comedy Café Berlin (way to improv, guys). It’s going to be located in the heart of hipster central, on Neukölln’s Weserstraße, and will feature a café and bar alongside a theatre to showcase the stars of Berlin’s up-and-coming international comedy scene. As well as live standup, sketch and improv, this new institution for comedy will host workshops and courses for anyone who wants to polish up their funning skills.

    With construction already under way, the team are raising money to pay for important stuff like soundproofing. To help secure the future of this promising project, check out the Comedy Café Berlin Kickstarter, where rewards include the chance to get your name on the Wall of Fame, one of the theatre’s 60 seats, a menu item, or even its toilets (“Name of Thrones”!). When you’re giggling it up in Berlin’s most awesome new nightspot, you can thank your past self for being so generous and, let’s face it, smart. DO IT.

    Tags: , ,