rhapsody in green (12. 796)

Though released in 1976 with the impressive credentials of synth music pioneer and eclectic composer of genres ranging from easy-listening to the occult space age electronic pop Mort Garson, his anthology album of Moog sounds formulated for plants and plant-lovers failed to sell a single record for decades that is until a bootleg copy was put online and subsequent vinyl pressings. Its obscurity owed to the fact of its limited, exclusive release only as a free gift for those purchasing a houseplant from the eponymous store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles—and to those who purchased a mattress from a local Sears outlet. A touchstone of of the era also on account of the interest in horticultural communication and well-being, Plantasia is more celebrated and cerebral for human enjoyment as a forerunner of electronic music. More from Kraftfuttermischwerk including an intense analysis of the complex contrapuntal composition due in part to the to limitations of the Moog with a single voice, monophonic instrument and its virtuosity in the ability to layer those effects.

*    *    *    *    *

synchronoptica

one year ago: Pulp Fiction (with synchronopticæ), a simplified LED typeface plus a mysterious visit from Mr Babbage

fifteen years ago: Jesus H Christ 

♪Ø (12. 787)

Having been previously acquainted with several esoteric programming languages (here, here and here), we enjoyed this introduction to Velato courtesy of Futility Closet. Using MIDI files as source code, compiled by Daniel Temkin (see above) in 2009, the syntax provides a unique challenge with constraints (see also) for achieving the desired output and something melodious. The pictured lines of code produce, “Hello World,” the standard programming benchmark plus sanity check to make sure the logic holds. Hear the programming and find related languages at the link above.

heavy petting (12. 785)

Despite (or because of) its ban by the BBC and refusal to air the chanson on the radio or on Top of the Pops for its overtly sexual content, the song whose title translates to “I love you … me neither”—originally composed by Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot in 1967—the Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin duet rose to number one on the UK and Irish charts on this day in 1969, the first foreign language one to do so. Prolific and iconic songwriter Gainsbourg (previously) was ordered after a particularly bad date by his then-girlfriend Bardot (see also) to write the ultimate love song as penance—which the two later recorded in a studio together. After the session Bardot begged Gainsbourg to never release it—he complied but was upset that his singular attempt at writing a love song would go unheard. Breaking up with Bardot the next year, Gainsbourg’s on-screen tryst with English actress Birkin during the filming of the romantic comedy Slogan turned into a real-life affair—at first for the sake of the project—with Gainsbourg latter seducing her with the private recording made with his ex. For admittedly selfish reasons, motivated by the fact she wanted no one else to record it, Birkin agreed to perform the track. The title «Je t'aime... moi non plus» was inspired by a quotation of Salvador Dalí that “Picasso is Spanish, me too. Picasso is a genius, me too. Picasso is a communist, me neither.” Despite Birkin’s lasting imprint (Gainsbourg directed her in an erotic film of the same name in 1976), it was revealed later that Gainsbourg also approached Marianne Faithfull to do the duet and by 1986, Bardot had reconsidered her position and persuaded Gainbourg to release their original recording. An instrumental version was played during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

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synchronoptica

one year ago: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (with synchronopticæ) plus a last day on the Havel

sixteen years ago: an awful trollish post on Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize that we’re ashamed we made and feel very differently now

seventeen years ago: fleeing interconnections to a new Dark Age 

10x10 (12. 780)

third amendment rights: ICE officers and associates beg to use the restroom  

dance this mess around: Cardhouse’s 2025 mixtape session—see previously 

anti-deficiency act: an omnibus of reports on the US federal government shutdown, including the threat to withhold back-pay from disloyal workers  

any dream of avarice: a historical comparison of the world’s wealthiest individuals—see also  

angry little clouds: Bob Ross paintings (see previously here and here) to be auctioned off to US support public broadcasters after federal funding cut  

the weight of a city: revisiting the idea of gradually x-raying a spot off-limits with ghostly cosmic particles through imagined and inspired celestial espionage  

permanent polycrisis: Curios Brain’s trends for 2026 of sustained chaos counterbalanced with the end of coincidence 

a good mix of the apocalypse and looney tunes: Thomas Pynchon (previously) has been warning us about American fascism his whole literary career 

r u experienced: a glorious re-upload of Devo’s 1984 cover of the Jimi Hendrix song  

in the land of the dollar bill: Trump threatens to arrest the mayor of Chicago for failing to protect immigration agents and invoke the Insurrection Act as he goes full authoritarian

synchronoptica

one year ago: boating on the Röblinsee (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: fiat currency plus extending the sacrament to divorced Catholics

thirteen years ago: making crespelle 

ribeauvillé et hunawihr (12.767)

 

 

Going a bit further afield, we toured the commune historically known as Rappoltsweiler / Ràppschwihr after the eighth century town passed from the ownership of the Bishopric of Basel to the countship of Rappoltstein (Ribeaupierre), the hereditary king charged with the protection and patronage of the itinerant minstrels of Alsace, who paid a busking tribute to their lord in exchange—the office of the Pfeiferkönig eventually was inherited by the ranks of the prince-electors of Bavaria, and made an annal pilgrimage to their sainted patronness Maria von Dusenbach, a chapel in the Capuchin cloister complex just outside of Ribeauvillé dedicated to the Presentation of Jesus. The Gothic centre with preserved medieval houses is overlooked by a primeval forest (re-seeded much later in its history with giant sequoia—see also—and containing the largest stand outside of North America) and the ensemble of three ruined castles, Saint-Ulrich, Girsberg and Haut Rappoltstein.

 

Next we visited Hunawihr on the way back to Riquewihr—also with a beautifully preserved layout from the 1300s—it was named after the residence of another Frankish lord called Huno, built on the foundations of a Gallo-Roman villa. Renowned for her piety and charity, the sainted lady of the estate, Huna, took it upon herself to do the laundry for the poor and the sick in the fountain at the base of the village, imbuing the clean clothes with powers to restore the health of the ill—with one instance of the dirty wash-water transformed into wine during a particularly bad harvest year. The hilltop fortified church (Kirchenburg, l'église fortifiée) in view of the legendary spring became a pilgrimage site and became, like many of the sacred buildings of the region what’s called a simultaneum, following the Treaty of Westphalia that guaranteed religious liberties for the people of Alsace, and holds both Catholic mass and Protestant services.

say do you remember (12. 748)

 

It’s that time again. Love was changing the mind of pretenders while chasing the clouds away—see previously here and here. Don’t forget to put out a plate of cookies for Earth, Wind and Fire tonight.

 

television dreams of tomorrow—we’re not the one you’re meant to follow (12. 747)

On this day in 2004, Green Day released their seventh studio album—their first in four years—American Idiot, an overtly political and socially critical record, the tracks, especially the title one, expresses the disillusionment and decent of a generation whose prospects were informed by 9/11 and the resulting forever wars. A telling of the gospel of Jesus of Suburbia, a precarious working-class anti-hero figure, the suite of songs were put together as a concept album for a punk rock opera, taking inspiration from Jesus Christ Superstar, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Charting worldwide, it was also against the media apparatus, which in the band’s view had crossed from journalism to sensationalism and reality TV, glorified violence of combat in Iraq intercut with advertisements. An enduring protest song, lyrics have been subtly updated from redneck to “I’m not a part of the [MAGA/ELON] agenda” and “subliminal mind-Trump America.” Wake me up when September ends.

10x10 (12. 746)

the dominator model continues to run the world: Lydia Lunch’s timeless feminist manifesto 

jut: a new way to measure the magnitude and magnificence of mountains—via Metafilter  

and i’m floating in the most peculiar way: a cover of Major Tom by Magdalena Bay—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links  

bequest: an assortment of old customs and curious donations and charities 

red noise: the French musical underground’s decade of synths and situationists—via { feuilleton }  

𒀾: writing lessons in Cuneiform  

being of sound minds and body: collection of captivating wills and last testaments—via Strange Company  

you’ve really made the grade: a scroll through the archives of David Bowie  

pathfinder: a look into the inner-workings of Google Maps  

me and bobbie mckee: the forgotten inspiration for the gender-swapping ballad of Kris Kristofferson and Janis Joplin—see previously

synchronoptica

one year ago: Weird Al parodies Bob Dylan with palindromes (with synchronopticæ) plus more gerrymandering

twelve years ago: a possible clue to hidden Nazi loot hidden on sheet music 

fourteen years ago: the Pope comes home to Germany 

fifteen years ago: GMO salmon 

7x7 (12. 731)

life is too short to not say exactly what you mean all the time: folk singer Jessie Welles (previously) on one’s calling and being candid in trying times 

post-parade afterglow: clips of Chinese soldiers returning home with identical tan-lines from drilling in the helmets in the sun for the event commemorating the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II  

crash blossoms: Tropic Storm Gabrielle Spaghetti Models as Hurricane Chances Increase and other headlines 

bijin-ga: a selection of Japanese prints featuring cats and butterflies eau de eight-bit: fragrances inspired by classic home computers 

analyst call: Trump urges US Securities and Exchange Commission to eliminate quarterly reporting requirements for businesses, afraid of how markets will react to the knock on effects of tariffs of 

brahmins and buddhists: an exploration of a right-wing ideologue and influencer who brought yoga to the West

and the adjacent possible (12. 729)

OK Go continues its tradition of crafting glorious high-concept music video to accompany and complement their songs—previously—with the latest dazzlingly, chaotic animated Impulse Purchase being no exception. The maximalist collaboration with Blender Studios and the signature digital characters of artist Lucas Zanotto (see previously) with the help of Will Anderson (BAFTA award winning storyteller who struggles with the revival of his own, imagined best-known creation, Longbird, that once upon a time conferred him with legendary status) combines motion capture and three-dimensional rendering goes one further by making the endeavour open-source and models available to anyone to remix, adapt and share—a statement on the architecture of choice and algorithmically curated options which assertively reframes the dialogue by reseting the parameters. More on the making and a tutorial from It’s Nice That at the link above.

i’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife (12. 725)

Released on this day in 2013, the debut single from Irish singer-songwriter Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (professionally known by the mononym Hozier) is a soulful hymn that uses religious terminology to describe a forbidden relationship as an invective against discrimination with attendant shame and trauma promulgated by the Catholic Church. With the help of the music video that is somewhat of a departure lyricly and the recently introduced platforms of Shazam (as a cataloguer and registry to discover new songs) and Spotify, it became an international chart-topper, spending a then record twenty-three consecutive weeks at the top, tying with Imagine Dragons’ 2012 Radioactive. Written and demo recording made in the attic of his parents’ home in County Wicklow, it caught the attention of an independent label and turned the artist’s career prospects around. Hozier’s body of works all share social conscious themes and both his songs and continued advocacy have a strong message of justice and champion the poor and marginalised.

8x8 (12. 714)

idf: Israel airstrikes target Hamas officials in Doha—with no forewarning to Trump—as it orders the evacuation of Gaza City 

ripped from the headlines: a Centipede style arcade game played by doomscrolling New York Times articles—via Waxy  

hurdy gurdy: covers performed on an electro-acoustic modified sewing machine—see previously  

2025 pn7: the quasi satellites of the Earth—see previously  

succession: the appointee to the Murdoch media empire 

przestrzeń powietrzna: in a test of NATO solidarity, Poland downs Russian drones violating their airspace   

the evening truth: a resonate 1932 novel about yellow journalism employing a secret weapon called the composograph to fabricate sensational stories  

never again: LA’s Holocaust Museum retracts an denunciation on Israel’s attacks on Palestine—plus the genealogy of the phrase 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronopticæ)

fourteen years ago: wildfires worldwide

fifteen years ago: modular furnishings plus America’s competitive edge slipping

 

cadenza finala (12. 711)

Completed and recorded on this day in Vienna in 1925, Igor Stravinsky’s (see previously) Serenade in A, dedicated to his wife Yekaterina, resulted from the composer’s first gramophone contract for the American Brunswick label and written expressly so that each movement would fit on one side of a 78 rpm disc. Neither A major nor A minor is the key, despite the title, but rather the music tends towards A as a tonic pole—inspired by the chord progression and radial structure of eighteenth century Nachtmusik, serenades, usually written for a string ensemble as a piece of occasional music commissioned by an entertaining patron. The concluding movement after the hymne, romanza and rondoletto is a meditation on the composer’s Russian heritage.

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synchronoptica

one year ago: voting from space (with synchronopticæ), split-screen campaigning plus British holiday camps

twelve years ago: a misguided delegation to revolutionary Egypt 

thirteen years ago: deep bore holes plus aerial antennae and cellular masts

fourteen years ago: separatist movements in Italy 

fifteen years ago: predatory student loans 

seventeen years ago: an overheated engine 

goodbye england’s rose (12. 702)

With two thousand invited guests in attendance in Westminster Abbey, the route through London lined with over a million and two-and-a-half-billion viewers worldwide, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales (previously), took place on this day in 1997—although not an official funeral but rather a royal ceremony, organisers relied on the plans, rehearsed for the previous two decades, codenamed Operation Tay Bridge (see also) for the Queen Mother, and was accorded the pageantry and liturgy usually reserved for the royal family. The dean of the cathedral had personally appealed to senior palace aides to secure Elton John’s performance at the service—to include something modern. Diana and John were last together only a few weeks prior, attending the funeral of mutual friend Gianni Versace in Milan, and immediately upon learning of the princess’ death, John reached out to lyricist Bernie Taupin to rework his 1973 tribute to Marilyn Monroe to honour Diana. A quarter of a century later to the day in 2022, Queen Elizabeth the second held an audience with outgoing and incoming prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss respectively, at her residence in Balmoral as her last official acts before her death.

7x7 (12. 701)

people are flushing toilets ten times, fifteen times, as opposed to once—john jay: other AI-generated quotes of America’s foundational figures at new Smithsonian exhibit—see also  

coronation street: a recent celebration of the eleven hundredth anniversary of the enthronement of King Æthelstan, the first ruler of united England  

_invalid_username: a short, seemingly intuitive quiz—we failed miserably at—on what constitutes an email address—via Web Curios  

in a galaxy far, far away: the official map of the Star Wars paracosm 

dj earworm: an end of summer mashup  

double, double toil and trouble: Shakespeare added the witches, weird sisters (see also) to Macbeth for the benefit of his patron James I—see previously  

founding fathers: the colourful life US constitutional signatory turned harsh critic of the mythos Gouverneur Morris—via Strange Company

synchronoptica

one year ago: a nuclear war preparedness exercise (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: Iranian president offers a Rosh Hashanah blessing 

thirteen years ago: some castles of Rheinland-Pfalz plus a bleak economic picture

fourteen years ago: revisionism and security theatre persist ahead of the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks 

fifteen years ago: bird-watching plus a trip along the Danube

sixteen years ago: mascot mayhem 

seventeen years ago: a trip to the Wasserkuppe 

mister bean and the smear campaign (12. 686)

Via Nag on the Lake and Memo of the Air—although we could not really really find any affinity—nor notes for—this catalogue of the weirdest and worst novelty songs, to have been graced with music videos, we did appreciate the presentation from Vole Television with clever interstitials like classic bumpers from MTV. The title track—“(I want to be) Elected”—was produced by Bruce Dickinson (not a single-issue voter and well before Rowan Atkinson became one) for the Red Nose comic relief charity and was included in the closing coverage before purdah by BBC Parliament in 1992. Going through more of the playlist, we do find that there are VH-1 pop-up video style commentary and factoids and also features Lieutenant Pigeon, so maybe some measure of kindredness.  Tag your favourites.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the dissolution of East Germany (with synchronopticæ) plus a banger from George Harrison

9x9 (12. 669)

de minimis: new US tariff confusion has many European shipping companies suspending deliveries to the United States—see previously  

o tu illustrata: the 1988 David Lynch produced album of Jocelyn Montgomery performing Hildegard von Bingen compositions—see previously here and here  

thank you for your attention to this matter: Gavin Newson can perhaps ape despots so well because they’re not all that different 

optical illusion: if you stare at this circle for long enough, it becomes a red dot 

sometimes easy, sometimes hard: reflecting on the legacy of post-punk hit Deluxe by Harmonia half-a-century on—via Feuilleton  

labirinti di immagini: fifteenth century Italian architect Francesco Segala pioneered the picture maze  

entartete kunst: Trump orders a purge of diversity narratives at the Smithsonian 

uptown top ranking: a reggae one-hit wonder from duo Althea and Donna  

never let a crisis go unexploited: like the Dole fruit company in Hawaii or the supposed car-jacking in DC that led to its takeover, the US will capitalise on the protest of a newborn being removed from her Greenlandic mother for welfare reasons as the excuse to annex it 

synchronoptica

one year ago: a quick weekend get-away (with synchronopticæ) plus the Formosa Straits crisis of 1958

thirteen years ago: travel bumper stickers

seventeen years ago: designed obsolescence  

diesel and dust (12. 662)

Released on this day in 1987, the sixth studio album from Midnight Oil is a concept record on the themes of environmental degradation and the struggles of Indigenous Australians, critically acclaimed and ranked amongst the best compilations of the 80s since its premiere. Drawing their inspiration from several months of touring the outback and playing in venues for remote Aboriginal communities—criticised by some as a one-off publicity stunt rather than a genuine effort to highlight lack of opportunity and low living standards leading to poor outcomes, the band decided to redouble their efforts to champion recognition and reconciliation. The chart topping single below is an indictment about how populations were subject to forced-removal and sparked a global discussion about land-rights and reframing narratives—with colonisers not the only one who get to write history, reprised several times with the expanded message of the impending climate catastrophe.

*     *     *     *     * 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) 

twelve years ago: Snowden’s time in Hong Kong, Bitcoin and Germany plus cult sites of the Theban Legion 

thirteen years ago: artist Laurtis Andersen Ring 

fourteen years ago: mythical creatures and Addler stones 

brekekekèx-koàx-koáx (12. 659)

Via ibīdem, we are directed to a retrospective look at an unusual best-selling album—reminiscent of this extensive audio survey giving voice to the voiceless in this conchological glossary or the perennial fascination of music for plants—reprised on several occasions due to popular demand in noted herpetologist Charles Bogert’s 1958 recording Sounds of North American Frogs. Fifty-seven sample tracks include the cries and calls like the scream of the Southern Leopard Frog or the rain song of the Squirrel Treefrog and moreover the look at the label and provenance of this immersive, natural experience—the Folkways Records was an accession of the Smithsonian Museum for the public good—and bringing the great outdoors to one’s ears. Much more at the links above including factors that prompted reissues for such field recordings.

6x6 (12, 643)

levi strauss waltz: fledging Jefferson Airplane’s commercials for blue jeans 

moral high-ground: despite what justice we might entrust to AI, ethics remain a human responsibility  

whittle: a reductive word challenge—via Web Curios  

keygen.exe: the soundtrack of internet piracy  

si te fata ferunt, fer fata, ferere: the inscribed joists of Montaigne’ tower of his favourite classical aphorisms   

the cube: Jim Henson’s experimental 1969 teleplay for NBC