In The City: Part Two
Posted: 15/10/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: About, allen, chad, City, day, HEALTH, in, kimbie, lily, mount, Satan, The, two, valley, Worried, youth Leave a comment »
Where’s day one? I have a blog but it was a bit of a incoherent blur having had a minor altercation with a cocktail of flu remedies and one too many G&Ts. I’ll put it up in a couple of years when the heat’s died down with John Robb. It’s more of a Fear and Loathing In The City piece anyway, but with prescription drugs and crap writing.
So today was by far a good day. I was all over Manchester on my fixie-bike, frequently pressing my Buddy Holly bins onto my self-regarding dickhead face.
First off was Kisses at the Castle. Painfully unhurried dreamy pop from this trio of cardigan models. I liken the experience to one big safe cardigan shopping trip with your mum. Songs weren’t bad either. I prefer loud noise and sweat so it wasn’t exactly my bag, but I can see the attraction. Definitely more of a record band than a live act. Spot Lily Allen. Try to make friends with her but she’s repulsed by my snotting and tells me to fuck off. She’s so lovely.
I’m a bit weird with laptop bands. Bands such as Worried About Satan. Anyone else feel that a gig needs to be aesthetically engaging? There’s not much you can do behind a laptop before it begins to look as though you’re enjoying your own music more than the audience. Worried About Satan bop enthusiastically like that. Very long, nondescript beat music. I like it, but it’s not engaging for me in a live setting, even while coming up on Lemsip Max Strength. Again, headphones on a train band.
I forgo D/R/U/G/S. Everyone else will cover them. Not a huge fan, and I’ve heard enough unexceptional laptop music for tonight (controversial). Plus, why are playing thrice across In The City? Really? Thrice?
I see Youth at Gullivers. Excellent. Young, broody young chaps with a collection of perfectly crafted songs. However I’ve only caught the end. Will keep an eye open for any future name changes and developments. I note that Gullivers is the kind of venue where I expect I’ll see something amazing. Any tips?
The pleasantly named Chad Valley at Soup Kitchen is the best thing so far. The guy has an amazing voice atop a collection of weird, croony, dare I say wonky pop backing. I like backing bands, but consider the hassle of having to run songs by them. For this reason what he plays is quite unique, and works in filling Soup Kitchen with an engaging sound that has passers-by stopping for glimpses through the window.
Smatka are an strange cabaret-cum-pop act. They’re not bad, audience seems a little nonplussed by the whole affair. Everyone looks around in order to gauge exactly what they should be doing. I concur.
Labyrinth Ear. Brilliant cold-wave minimal from this delightfully odd looking pair. These guys really belong in an early 80s German basement/dungeon. The tall fellow hits away at a drum pad that has that satisfyingly dull snare sound. Volume’s too low and audience murmur becomes a huge pain in the ass.
Mount Kimbie. Laptop band. I duck out early to head over to HEALTH. I’m torn between them and From the Kites of San Quentin. HEALTH are predictably amazing. Played a couple of new songs that appear to focus more on a beat you can continually move to, as opposed to frequent time changes. Big mosh and lots of smiles, except the one guy who stares in disbelief at his broken Armani glasses.
In The City Trends (For next year): Those chains that old people use to keep their glasses on at HEALTH.
My nodes are like friggin golf balls. Make of that what you will.
In The City – Live
Posted: 13/10/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
Update:
Intense. John Robb spied me from across the room and mouthed, “You!” with pointed finger before walking toward me T100 style. I ducked into the conference room before he could scalp me like he does in The Last of the Mohicans.
I’ll condense the 1-hour Blogging in the USA talk into a few sentences: One blog good, lots of blogs, bad. Be funny and shit. Don’t post MP3s without good content. All fairly standard. Was nice that (Joe?) from A New Band A Day piped up. He has a wonderful blog. Skip to the end, most bloggers are a bunch of cunts.
In The City Trends: “Buzzword” in the new buzzword.
I wanna see some bands already.
—
So I’m here. I’m an In The City virgin, apparently it’s been crap for a few years so there’s not much to live up to. Which thus far is just as well. Everyone’s talking to each other with very sincere looks on their faces. There goes John Robb, Mohawk cutting through the crowd like a scene from Jaws.
Saw a band while everyone else was too busy mulling away in conference rooms over what kind of underpants Guy Garvey wore while they recorded Elbow’s new album (I’m told a Jersey Brief). Lisbon duo Youthless were great. Of course if I say otherwise I’m likely due a beating from said band as they’re currently kipping on my floor. They play at the Umbro Design Studio at 9.30 on Friday. Plug over, honest, they’re well worth watching though.
In The City Trends: Those with lanyards, have front of pass facing you. That way someone might think you’re famous. They’re giving out some cool bags full of stuff. Apparently you should “totally go for the lemon flavoured energy drink!” It’s no “beware of the brown acid” but it’s a mantra I’ll certainly take heed of. Off for some blogging talk.
Joanna Newsom – Saturday September 18th @ The Palace
Posted: 12/10/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
I’m in the heavens, and every time someone sheepishly walks past to go for yet another piss the stairs creak like grandma’s house in the dead of night. Where I am it’s a disparate rabble of audience. A large frequency of beards, but other than that there’s no discernible character trait of a Newsom fan. This is of course irrelevant; I suppose other reviewers might allude to it as being ‘all part of the magic of the evening’.
Lights dim and a voice emerges from the shadows: “I can see in the dark!” I don’t think many here know who Roy Harper is, judging by the quantity of people who get up two songs into his set to go and get more beer, or piss. Harper’s warm, homely, and frequently breaks off the start of songs to voice his opinions on visiting pontiffs. I’ll admit I’m more aware of his legend than I am of his work, but he reminds me of someone somewhere between John Renbourn and Bill Bailey. The talent and the whimsy. He’s a great choice for support, and I chuckle at gung-ho members of the audience that let out a sole clap having assumed his last song’s done.
First band, and then the Newsom are met to a predictably rapturous applause. As she delicately plucks the first chords of ‘Bridges and Balloons’ a change of tone is noticeable in her voice (I’ll omit the node story. Google it). Those who struggled with the Lisa Simpson shrill of her earlier work would find no qualms with a softer, rounded and more mature colour that her voice has this evening. The sparse track tonight benefits from her Ys Street band, as they stir what were still moments of a wonderful reworking.
‘Have One On Me’ then ‘Easy’ are perfectly conducted. With the band live you appreciate the imperative role they play on HOOM (Crap acronym), elsewhere making up for a full orchestra brilliantly on ‘Cosmia’. One of many highlights is a striking rendition of ‘Inflammatory Writ’. Tonight there’s a greater air of drunken, hazy bar room, with trombone being played to marvellous effect on ‘Good Intentions Paving Company’. Newsom’s fingers play arachnid across the strings and you get the feeling you’re watching her at the top of her game. She oozes confidence and appears in good spirits, thankfully addressing audience members who insist on being David Bailey throughout the early part of the gig. She graces them a few moments to grab their grainy pictures before settling into a superb, albeit far too brief set.
However, such is the duration of Ys and Have One On Me, when you see Newsom live you feel cheated that you’ve not been graced with an epic night. There’s curfews afoot and she returns for a superb and enchanting encore of ‘Peach, Plum, Pear’ and ‘Jackrabbits’ before disappearing into the Manchester rain.
(Photo courtesy of Phil King)
Interview: Gideon Conn
Posted: 04/10/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
Just look at him! You’d be forgiven for thinking Gideon Conn is a slightly eccentric and difficult artist. In reality, he’s softly spoken, pensive and delightfully affable. He’s dressed like Graham Coxon and later alludes to his fondness for Blur over Oasis, although I’m unsure if this is what’s informed his geeky attire today.
Trash Humpers
Posted: 29/09/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Harmony, Humpers, Indie, Korine, Trash 1 Comment »
Trash Humpers is meant to have an air of discarded and discovered VHS. Static flecked, crude graphics, decayed by rain and composed of overexposed scenes stitched by brash cuts. It could easily be the Youtube upload of Leatherface’s offspring, in both style and content.
Elsewhere there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason to Harmony Korine’s 77 minutes of found footage. On one level Trash Humpers plays like the debased folly of a bored and provocative indie director. It’s oft amusing, unsettling, shocking and occasionally a victim of its own regressive agenda, yet at points I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the work of directors such as Werner Herzog (Even Dwarfs Started Small) and Lars Von Trier (The Idiots). Clear themes of lunacy run through the film – manifest as some kind of deranged hillbillies – hidden by prosthetic masks that caricature the elderly, but with able young thrusting bodies. Little is known about the grotesques other than their delectation for humping trash and trees. There’s murder, discarded naked bodies, home invasion and kidnap. While it’s unsettling subject matter bereft of any discernible narrative, Trash Humpers is an oddly compelling watch.
The candid style cinematography and continual jump cuts, hazy aesthetic and VHS static add disorientating and enthralling nuances to the film. It’s both frightening and hilarious, disturbing yet strangely beautiful. In a series of short cuts, ordinarily mundane scenes are given an enchanting beauty. This is most definitely a director’s film. It answers to no formula. The decision by Korine to feature in Trash Humpers can be construed as a way by which he’s again throwing off the shackles of conformity as he cackles maniacal behind the lens. There’s something about his madness that’s intrinsically anti-establishment.
Naysayers will dismiss Trash Humpers as lowbrow trash. People will hate it, and to some degree I enjoy it for that. The best art is that which provokes a response, polarizes opinion. I like to entertain the notion that by simply existing it acts as a catalyst for public discussion.
Trash Humpers is out on DVD and Ltd edition VHS (If someone wants to buy this for me I’d love them forever) now, here.
Preview: In The City
Posted: 03/09/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Men, Andreya Triana, Angel, band, Beaty Heart, Breton, Bright Light Bright Light, Brown Brogues, Chad Valley, Crystal Fighters, Dog Is Dead, drugs, Eagulls, Ellen and the Escapades, Factory Floor, Fiction, Hype Williams, In The City, Is Tropical, Ital Tek, John Weise, Kisses, Lissi Dancefloor Disaster, Live, lounge, Male Bonding, manchester, Mazes, Moho, Mount Kimbie, Mujeres, Mz Bratt, Night & Day, No Age, O Children, Oh No Ono, On, oOoOO, Porcelain Raft, Roadhouse, ruby, Ruff Diamondz, Skepta, Sky Larkin, Slow Motion Shoes, Spectrals, Team Ghost, Teeth, The, The Bewitched Hand On The Top Of Our Heads, Wall, White Ring, Youthless, Yuck Leave a comment »
For the esoteric music snob, a festi such as In The City (13th-15th Oct) sounds like a very appealing prospect indeed. Not only does it take place among Northern Quarter venues bereft of mud, tents and feckless morons wielding ‘Free Hugs’ signs, but it incorporates the important – albeit oft vilified – strata of the industry who ply their trade in the shadows: managers, A&R men and label bosses, oh my.
This year, In The City sports a simply mouthwatering line-up, including: No Age, Sky Larkin, Mount Kimbie, Male Bonding, Yuck, Crystal Fighters, Factory Floor, oOoOO, White Ring, Skepta, Spectrals, Kisses, Ital Tek, Teeth, Andreya Triana, Mazes, John Weise, Is Tropical, Mazes, Porcelain Raft, Oh No Ono, O Children, Chad Valley, Team Ghost, D/R/U/G/S, Hype Williams, American Men, Fiction, Breton, Brown Brogues, Ellen and the Escapades, Dog Is Dead, Slow Motion Shoes, Beaty Heart, Eagulls, Lissi Dancefloor Disaster, The Bewitched Hand On The Top Of Our Heads, Mujeres, Youthless, Bright Light Bright Light, Mz Bratt, Ruff Diamondz, Angel and Maverick Sabre. As if that’s not enough, more acts are due to be announced.
Couple with this live talks from Jay Brown (President and co-founder of Roc Nation), Mike Pickering (MD, Deconstruction Records), Jho Oakley (Founder, Jho Management), Caroline Protheroe (Manager, David Guetta) and Bertis Downs (Manager, R.E.M) and you’ve got yourself a orgasmic three days of music.
Venues participating include Night & Day, Roadhouse, Band On The Wall, Ruby Lounge, Moho Live and a few more.
- Wristbands are £29.
- Hostel and wristband package is £72 for 3 nights stay at Hatters.
- Hotel and pass packages available at £450 for 3 nights stay at City Inn (ITC main
conference venue).
Everything else you need to know can be found on the ITC website.
Pantha Du Prince – Tuesday August 3rd @ The Ruby Lounge
Posted: 09/08/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: August, Black, come, Du, duck, lounge, manchester, noise, Pantha, Prince, ruby, Saturn, see, Strobe, The Leave a comment »
I may have made some misplaced assumptions about tonight. Speculations such as all German’s are cold, and sticklers for precision. The Ruby Lounge has a questionable sound system. DJ/producer/computer types live, are always tepid, obvious and repetitive affairs.
The main support is D/R/U/G/S. Now, they are a little repetitive. For a short while I’m unaware they’ve even started. It takes moment to discern that the duo casually hunkering over a laptop are performers, and not just two fellows defragging a hard drive. Maybe the nonchalance is part of their shtick. The music certainly doesn’t warrant air punching, or that smug grimace that lots of laptop-knob twiddling types are doing these days. Nevertheless, even with a non-performer such as say, Gold Panda, you know he’s started at least; there are quite obvious visual clues. Not here. The music isn’t bad, it’s just not particularly very good.
Next up a rather humble gentleman is on stage with a wine glass, some ice, and a couple of bottles of water. He taps and runs a metal wand around the innards of the glass, and a shrill tone bellows echoing through the soundsystem, it now having been transmogrified into a swirling, reverberating cacophony of noise. Instead of keys on a keyboard, he adds an ice cube and the tone and dynamic change. Two cubes, three cubes, some water, circulating the rod round the glass, each time creating a new texture of sound. Eventually he presses play on his machinery and a new set of noises whir into their own. It’s common now for the music producer to do this, bop in time to his pre-programmed bars, but you get the impression that Pantha Du Prince doesn’t subscribe to this mode. His esoteric tampering seems earnest; each track is fresh, organic. ‘Saturn Strobe’ is just as vast in its scope, well beyond the aural confines of the Ruby Lounge. The same can be said for tracks from Black Noise. It’s a rare thing when a musician in a live setting can successfully recreate the minutiae of music as complex as Pantha Du Prince, but somehow, very little is mislaid.
I’m always apprehensive about music makers who rely on computers when they play live. I understand that there are noises no piece of wood or brass or string can produce. It’s the way the musician strums or hits or blows that makes the performance. The DJ taps and twiddles. What’s crucial about live performance is the crowd reaction. All musicians live for the response of a crowd, and it’s this element that links every performer together, no matter what their instrument. Pantha Du Prince is working the crowd into a state somewhere between awe and frenzy. Then there’s the sound. Very pristine. Throughout the night there’s a fellow toward the back of the stage whom I’m sure is on sound duties. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe that’s Herr Hendrik, and the patsy at the front of the stage is a fake.
Either way, tonight Pantha Du Prince, whoever he is, is borderline superb. It’s Tuesday, and working an audience into anything other than a reserved shuffle is a hard task, a task that’s accomplished to perfection.
Mcr Screenwipe celebrate 100th video with gig at The Deaf Institute
Posted: 05/08/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 100th, anniversary, brogues, brown, cats, deaf, dennis, in, institute, jones, knife, manchester, paris, screenwipe, that, video, with Leave a comment »I’m a big fan of Manchester Screenwipe. For the uninitiated, Mcr Screenwipe do their own take on the La Blogotheque format, in which musicians are taken to low-key locations whereupon they perform as the God of all that’s acoustic and naturally reverberant intended.
To celebrate hitting the 100th video milestone they’re putting on some of their favourite Manchester acts. Dennis Jones, Cats In Paris, With That Knife and Brown Brogues will all be at the Deaf Institute, Thursday August 12th. The first 100 people through the door will get a limited edition mix tape of some of Manchester’s finest artists. Oh my.
Tickets are £6 advance/£8 on the door. Available here, The Deaf Institute or Piccadilly Records.
The View From Here Exhibition
Posted: 04/08/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
As part of the ongoing exhibition ‘The View From Here’, the organisers are running a film night at Nexus Art Cafe. However, this is no ordinary film night. Instead, there’ll be a ‘Youtube Karaoke’. Those planning on attending will have the chance to vote for any Youtube video they deem worthy to be played on the night.
“We will be collecting data as to which videos are chosen and who chose them. This information will be used to form a landscape of human culture”. There’ll also be a screening of Daft Punk’s Electroma. The night starts at 7pm on Friday 6th August and entry is free. In the meantime you can vote for your favourite films using the ballot box at Nexus.
The organisers are also planning for another event that will run in conjunction with this exhibition: ‘Bright Club’ will take place at Nexus on Monday 16th August 7:30-10pm. It’s a night that blends comedy, science, music and anything else that can happen on stage. This month’s theme focuses on the idea of ‘place’. Entry is £2.
The group are looking for participants. If you’re interested in speaking at ‘Bright Club’ on the theme of ‘Place’, email theviewfromhere2010@gmail.com. Alternatively you can call Nexus Art Cafe on 0161 236 0100.
TOTD: Leona Anderson – Rats In My Room
Posted: 02/08/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
When I first heard this track I thought it was Wild Beasts (with a hint of Klaus Nomi). It’s not, it’s a women called Leona Anderson, and the track’s from an album released in 1957 entitled, Music To Suffer By.
Born in St. Louis in 1885, Anderson proclaimed to be, “the World’s most horrible singer”. It’s an adage she was quite comfortable with and it got her further than many of those who had the necessary talent. I liken her execution of anti-talent to modern acts such as Neil Hamburger or Die Antwoord (of course both are remarkably good with their adopted shtick). I’ve heard a lot worse than Anderson however, but given my penchant for all things truly terrible, I quite like it. The good news is that the album’s been remastered and is released today. Even better is that it’s still pretty hilarious. Here for Spotify.
The Hundred In The Hands – Thursday July 8th @ The Ruby Lounge
Posted: 20/07/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: hands, hundred, in, lounge, manchester, ruby, The 1 Comment »
I envision Warp artists playing in the dark. Looking back at other Warp acts I’ve seen over the years I’m reminded that they’ve all played from the unlit corners of the stage. Half the time I’m not even sure if they’re the act I’ve come to see. Tonight at the Ruby Lounge however, The Hundred In The Hands play in stark purple hues. Not so much steeped in mystery, but looking more like they’ve just stepped out of a Topshop shoot; adorned with fringes, white jeans and stripy black and white t-shirts.
You can’t help but feel a little sorry for the Brooklyn pair. Having travelled across the Atlantic and into the second night of their UK tour, a meagre 20 or so people have turned out to see them in the city they hold in high regard; it being home to the bands they hold dear.
The Hundred In The Hands certainly aren’t bad this evening. Vocalist Eleanore Everdell strikes me as being a little timid. Maybe it’s part of her coy indie starlet act. She’s got a few Karen O moves tucked away, but too often she’s reluctant to step out from behind her tiny synth. Meanwhile Jason Friedman is just there and I’m not sure if he even cares whether there’s an audience or not, which is great, but it’s Everdell’s role that needs more moxie if THITH (great acronym) are to coax reluctant audiences out of their timidity this evening.
The pace is erratic within a bracket of er…dancey-ness. While the speed determines exactly how we should move or bop or tap or stand around stroking our chins or gyrate awkwardly in the corner, the songs veer from catchy light electro-pop to, dare I say, filler. New songs – on offer from their self-titled debut due out in September – border on bland, and the obvious choice track for the next episode of Skins, ‘Tom Tom’ is omitted from the set. Annoying. Nevertheless, it’s a passable and enjoyable evening. Hopefully they’re finding their feet with British crowds. I don’t think you’re in Williamsburg Toto. Or something like that.
(Originally published on High Voltage)
Quack Quack – Slow As An Eyeball
Posted: 04/07/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: An, As, based, debut, Eyeball, Jazz, leeds, Quack, slow, trio Leave a comment »
I’ve heard good things regarding a raucous live show, so I jumped with fervent glee when this début from Leeds based threesome, Quack Quack fell through the door.
Omitting a winey front man can be a massive boon. Rather than layering your sonic masterpieces with wretched mewling, the real musician is free to survey realms of aural perfection, unhindered by emotional anchorage and blessed with the opportunity to explore the expansive plains of musical wonderment. I’m so sorry. How annoying it is then, when Quack Quack fail to embrace this possibility.
‘Perpetual Spinach’ creates a jejune, plodding and jovial opening, but it quickly becomes incidental. It pains me to say that so much of this album rests upon a crux of sluggishly dispensable nothingness. Due in part to slipshod organ lines that cut through a majority of tracks where drum and bass are criminally secondary, despite them adding bursts of excitement to otherwise tedious offerings.
Slow As An Eyeball isn’t bad, and while many tracks encompass a searching and expansive linear reach, it’s frequently frustrating and two-dimensional. ‘Big Sounds’ is excellent. A rolling drum beat ala Can, it has an engaging grasp, sharp abrasive attack, and changes that throw the track all over the shop. Likewise, ‘Slow As An Eyeball’ is brilliant. Unpolished brass gives it an early Mr. Bungle Disco Volante jazz feel. Unhinged, meandering with subtle hints of scuff and darkness where chirp has been the order of the day. You’re left thinking that tracks like these are where this album should be heading.
Elsewhere, Slow As An Eyeball just doesn’t take. ‘Toc H’ becomes infuriatingly repetitive, and features a collection of cheap and simplistic organ lines that often repeat ad-nauseam. It progresses slowly, and many of the tracks border on claustrophobic given their staid, albeit fun nature. ‘Cakes Are Easy’ shows promise, but soon slips into the realm of tiresome. ‘Bird Parliament’ has a moribund feel to it, occasionally breaking off into intermissions of what can only be described as 70s news music.
Imagine the disappointment when I was left feeling a little nonplussed when their apparent boisterousness failed to surface on CD. As Slow As An Eyeball is an enjoyable, if somewhat narrow first offering that fails to reach its full potential.
(Originally published on Muso’s Guide)
TOTD: The Hundred In The Hands – Tom Tom.
Posted: 16/06/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: day, hands, hundred, in, of, The, today, Track 2 Comments »
At first ‘Tom Tom’ appears quite messy. A throbbing synth so overpowering it almost detracts from the melee of what’s happening under the surface. So when the awkward clunking slowly pieces together it’s the most wonderful sound. The infectious blasé vocal delivery is completely charming. The track has a delightful innocent feel about it, playfully tripping along over an infectious bongo drum beat. The Hundred in the Hands EP, This Desert is out on Warp now.
Come See The HEALTH.
Posted: 14/06/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2, Die, disco, Disco2, HEALTH, Remix, slow, Tobacco Leave a comment »I should update this blog with more than HEALTH content. It’s just they’re so darn prolific. More bands should release free stuff. I’m writing about them right? Otherwise you wait and wait, and by the time a band’s released their next album they’re out of date. So here’s HEALTH, again, with another track from their forthcoming Disco2 remix album. Tobacco have ironed out any abrasion and given ‘Die Slow’ a decidedly smooth finish. Inspired it is. Download it and stuff.
HEALTH – Die Slow (Tobacco Remix)
Light American Graffiti.
Posted: 11/06/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Banksy. Love him or hate him you’ve got to admit that he’s made vandalism a legitimate and palatable medium for the masses, while reinforcing an idea that you don’t necessarily have to be artistically capable in order to get a message across.
People like James Powderly, a former NASA engineer, are doing away with the messy issues of paint and physical vandalism, and have been pioneering a novel and temporary way of marking messages onto buildings, bridges and subways. Having previously dabbled with magnetised LCD’s, Powderly currently uses a combination of laptops, lazer pens and projectors in order to decorate starless urban spaces.
However, it’s Powderly’s work in aiding a former graffiti legend that’s quite incredible. Tony Quan (aka Tempt) was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Powderly, seeing how Quan was now unable to write, set about devising a way in which Tony could express the creative visions he sees in his head, but can no longer physically implement.
“I think it’s safe to say that when you reach a certain amount of technical capability you can make whatever you envision. It’s a choice: whether or not you want to make things that are for the betterment of human beings or for the betterment of a sort of finite group of human beings.” – James Powderly.
