all this happened, more or less
“When I woke up from that dream
I was sleeping in a basement
Leaves were falling on the pavement
I was happy in the city
Took a friend’s car to the ocean
Are you ready? Are you ready?”
Rostam is a strong contender for my favorite producer of all time. His string arrangements always give me chills.
The xx used to be magic to me. I remember the day Chained came out, not just the song but this exact video. The music and visuals hit me in a way I still haven’t forgotten. It felt intimate and strange and perfect.
No one will ever really know me without intimately understanding the rush of listening to new indie music between 2007-2014.
In the heart of Brazil, there is a place where civilization suddenly stops and nature creates its endless kingdom. We are talking about the almost surreal border between the city of Manaus and the enormous Amazon rainforest, a contrast that leaves you speechless. On one side, a modern city, full of noise, buildings and urban life. On the other, a dense green sea that swallows the horizon and breathes the silence of forgotten times.
Seen from above, the border between the two worlds seems drawn with a ruler: asphalt and concrete that, from one point on, disappear completely before the thick foliage that stretches for thousands of kilometers. Manaus, considered the gateway to the Amazon, is the last stop before the desert. The city pulsates day and night, but just a few steps away begins the absolute kingdom of nature, where time slows down and the air becomes heavy with so much humidity and life.
It is difficult to find such a strong contrast anywhere else. In Manaus, skyscrapers strive for the sky, and just a few minutes away, giant Amazonian trees do the same, but silently, for thousands of years.
"They watch the moon" is a long exposure photograph taken by Trevor Paglen in 2010, depicting a classified 'listening station' deep in the forests of West Virginia.
The station is located at the center of the 'national radio quiet zone,' a 13k square mile area that includes portions of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland where cell phones, Wi-Fi, and radios are completely banned. The center is believed to be an N.S.A. eavesdropping complex.
