#Alex Da Corte

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #933

Alex Da Corte's 2021 sculpture "As Long as the Sun Lasts" features a blue version of Big Bird, like in Follow That Bird, or resembling Garibaldo from Vila Sésamo. The sculpture, commissioned for The Met's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, features a reference to the year Sesame Street began airing- 1969. The year also references when Da Corte's father emigrated to the United States and the moon landing.

Source:

"As Long as the Sun Lasts (commissioned for The Met's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, 2021)." Alex Da Corte. Aluminum, fiber reinforced plastic, PA12 nylon, stainless Steel, powder coating, cementitious grout, bronze, polyurethane paint. 2021.

[blistexenthusiast]

Bad Window With Wood, Alex Da Corte

[casualist-tendency]

Alex Da Corte (American, b. 1980), Broken Face (Blue/Purple), 2012, 70.2 x 70.2 cm

[thebowerypresents]

Tierra Whack Celebrates Debut Album’s Release at Webster Hall on Friday Night

Tierra Whack – Webster Hall – March 15, 2024

Philadelphia rap queen Tierra Whack has been getting the party started worldwide with her infectious rhymes for several years now. (It’s probably only a matter of time before she graces the multipurpose-room stage on��Abbott Elementary to battle Tariq Temple at a F.A.D.E. showcase.) Whack channels creativity and visual aspirations into her poetic lyrics and the videos that accompany them. From the Grammy-nominated video for “Mumbo Jumbo” to the recent Alex Da Corte–directed “27 Club,” her flair for fashion exudes further joy and pop, as witnessed on World Wide Whack, her debut full-length. She celebrated its release Friday night at a sold-out Webster Hall.   

With a large inflatable of the World Wide Whack avatar occupying a third of the stage, the rapper appeared adorned in her silver clown suit mirroring the attire from her album’s aesthetics. Opening with track one from her latest, “Mood Swing” appropriately began with  “I’ve been trying new things.” Throughout the show, the crowd indulged in a call-and-response, which warm-up DJ Kill Sing kicked off with a cry of  “worldwide” and requested the “Whack” reply. The admittedly nervous singer would cover the majority of the new songs, from the bounce-inducing “Ms Behave” to the melancholic “Two Night,” Her confidence building thanks to the supportive crowd, Whack effortlessly weaved among rap, pop, and R&B with her new material. On lead-single “Chanel Pit,” music box melodies danced amongst the spits of cultural references, like Vin Diesel and Resident Evil. Closer “27 Club” grooved to more R&B vibes for a downtempo, contemplative swan song, enrapturing the front row. 

Tierra Whack didn’t leave her stans without a trip down memory lane, including fan favorites like the bop “Pretty Ugly” and “Fuck Off,” which elicited raised middle fingers across the room. Everybody on the floor happily sang, “He likes my diamonds and pearls,” along with “Hungry Hippo.”  For the first time live, Whack performed her section of Lil Yachty’s “T.D.” before calling it a night. Despite the house lights turning on and exit music playing, everyone stayed put, chanting, “World Wide Whack,” leaving the stage crew unsure if they should halt operations. DJ Kill Sing indicated it might not be the end to this unforgettable night, as a wigless Whack returned to confess she was already shedding her costume. The crowd-manifested encore had the Philly native run off “Peppers and Onions” atop the barricade, before dropping to the floor amid her rabid admirers. —Sharlene Chiu | @Shar0ck

Photos courtesy of Edwina Hay | thisisnotaphotograph.com

@thesearenotphotographs

[newwavesylviaplath]

st vincent - all born screaming, 2024 (amazon uk exclusive signed copy!!)

it cost me more than the actual cd to get them to ship to canada but it was so worth it 🖤❤️‍🔥

[prettyfamous]

St Vincent | AnOther | Alex Da Corte | May 2024

[honeysound]

I go back where it's still raw.

475 - Emily Dickinson // Rubber pencil devil - Alex Da Corte // Morning in the Burned House - Margaret Atwood // Sick in the Head - Inigo Souza // Domestic still life 7 - Catherine Opie // We're Not Allowed to Be Lonely Anymore - Ryan O'Connell // Hayloft II - Mother Mother // There Must Be More Than Blood - Car Seat Headrest // Unpainted Door - Louise Glück

[noiselessmusic]

St. Vincent- "Broken Man" (vídeo)

Demorou, mas chegou! Depois de arriscar no blues com o álbum Daddy’s Home (2021), o projeto da guitarrista e cantora Annie Clark, St. Vincent está de volta com o primeiro single de seu novo e sétimo álbum All Born Screaming que vem ao mundo dia 26 de abril. O primeiro single “Broken Man” já mostra a paleta de cor preta, branca, e cores do fogo, que segundo a artista fazem alusão à vida e a…

[terminalfix]

(via St. Vincent - Broken Man (Official Video) - YouTube)

[oldsardens]

Alex Da Corte - Untitled (Jawa The Merry Jester with Vampire Watermelon) after Rousseau

[granstromjulius]

Alex Da Corte

[blistexenthusiast]

Slow Web, Alex Da Corte

[casualist-tendency]

Alex Da Corte (American, b. 1980), Paradise Lost, 2013, 142.9 x 142.9 cm

[jacksonmarkovic-studio]

Alex Da Corte, “Activity #9,” 2007

[sinceileftyoublog]

Riot Fest 2024 Preview: 5 Cant'-miss Non-headliners

St. Vincent; Photo by Alex Da Corte

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Emo Friday, indie rock Saturday, metal Sunday seems to be the theme of this year's Riot Fest--at least for the bands in the big fonts on the poster. Of the bands previewed here, you've got your pop-punk farewell, your art rock heavyweight, and your post-punk up-and-comers, but also the finest of the alt-country and hip hop worlds today. Yes, I'm fully aware that two of them overlap, but who's to say you can't go half and half? Here are 5 can't-miss non-headliners.

FRIDAY

Sum 41, 6:05 PM, Cabaret Metro Stage

"I don't wanna believe that maybe this is the end," Deryck Whibley sings on "Landmines", a standout from Sum 41's eighth and final album Heaven :x: Hell (Rise). On the contrary, Whibley's been pretty publicly okay with hanging it up, and I have to imagine it's in no small reason due to the strength of the record, two discs that, respectively, dive into the pop punk of the band's early years and the more metal-adjacent sounds of their more recent releases. It's as if Sum 41's released a greatest hits album of their various aesthetics. The first disc, Heaven, opens with "Waiting on a Twist of Fate", an impassioned blast that Sum 41 can still do as well as anybody, and doesn't slow down for the majority of its runtime. Even the songs where Whibley expresses ennui are ripe for rousing singalongs, from the barnburner "Future Primitive" to the stadium-sized "Dopamine". The band sounds as exciting as ever; the interplay between Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker's guitars, and Frank Zummo's rolling drums propel songs like "Bad Mistake".

Impressively, the songs on Hell are no less catchy and perhaps even more dynamic, such as "Over the Edge", whose hardcore verses subside for the hooky chorus and an unexpected piano outro. "I Don't Need Anyone", a song written after the band decided on calling it quits, sports a big, swinging bassline from Jason McCaslin, as if to say, "We might miss playing music, but you're gonna miss the feeling you get when listening to us, more." They even find room to document their penchant for live covers, delivering a fairly straightforward though no less burly version of The Rolling Stones' "Paint it Black".

On closer "How the End Begins", Whibley's perhaps a little more honest than he was at the beginning of the album, singing, "Sometimes I wonder if I have enough to say / Or am I just an echo, a reflection of yesterday." Even if Heaven :x: Hell acts as a proper career retrospective, it's a hell of a time, something the band can be proud of for years to come. Catch them for the last time on Friday night and rap along to the immortal "Fat Lip".

Waxahatchee; Photo by Molly Matalon

Saturday

Waxahatchee, 6:15 PM, Radical Stage

Katie Crutchfield's brand of alt-country might be a stylistic outlier at Riot Fest, but that makes it all the more punk, if you ask me. Leaning into the high and lonesome has resulted in the two best Waxahatchee albums so far, 2020's Saint Cloud and this year's impressive Tigers Blood (Anti-). Hearing her and her venerable band play these songs, at golden hour? That's unbeatable.

St. Vincent, 6:35 PM, Cabaret Metro Stage

On St. Vincent's first self-produced album All Born Screaming (Total Pleasure), the oft-acting singer adopts her boldest persona yet: herself. Throughout the record, she sings about loss, grief, and the art of keeping on, with a sense of brutal honesty we haven't yet seen from Annie Clark. "Give it all away cause the whole world's watching you," she sings on groovy opener "Hell Is Near", ditching the idea of role atop swirls of syncopated synth layers, dramatic piano, and hypnotic twelve-string guitar. What she cares about most is being subsumed by the music--well, that, and you being subsumed by her music, Clark embedding herself in your ears, like on the slinky, whip-cracking "Flea", rife with her trademark guitar squalls.

Part of Clark's comparatively straightforward communication, though, is letting us know when she's struggling. On "Reckless", she's shaken by the idea that those she loves will one day be gone: "Hey, ma, I'm cracking up," she sings, her usual assured baritone morphing into a creaky falsetto. She uses industrial beats and repetition of phrases to mirror emotional states of panic or release, screaming over and over "What are you looking at?" during the outro of "Broken Man", ending the title track by consistently chanting "all born screaming" beside skittering drums and a propulsive synth line. At the same time, All Born Screaming still finds time for uplift. "Violent Times", laden with David Ralicke's cinematic horns, is a tribute to finding love and practicing art amidst societal chaos. And the gorgeous "Sweetest Fruit", a salad of synaptic synths, galivanting drums, and twangy electric guitars, is dedicated to queer creators like SOPHIE and political cartoonist Daniel Sotomayor who passed away far too young. Clark has spoken about how the act of screaming is a sign that you're alive. As such, All Born Screaming shows a newfound appreciation for her earthbound world.

Live, expect to hear much of All Born Screaming, plus standouts from St. Vincent's previous five or so records.

SPRINTS

Sunday

SPRINTS, 1:20 PM, Cabaret Metro Stage

They don't even have to begin their set with "Ticking", and SPRINTS are still guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Yes, that song's build up of guitar, snare, and chanted vocals exemplifies the apex of the Dublin quartet's live intensity, but any of the hard-charging tunes on Letter to Self (City Slang), their terrific debut album, could introduce you to their urgent world. With SPRINTS, lead vocalist Karla Chubb sings about self-acceptance and love in the face of a world that stigmatizes depression and discriminates against queer folks, and she's got the might of Colm O'Reilly’s lead guitar, Sam McCann's groovy bass, and Jack Callan’s meaty drums to back her up. SPRINTS play early, and they might not play to a packed crowd, but everyone will leave a fan.

Tierra Whack, 5:00 PM, Rise Stage

Tierra Whack has been one of the most exciting figures in hip hop for the past half-decade. Her first major statement, her debut mixtape Whack World, consisted of 15 minute-long, world-building vignettes, each accompanied by a video. Her first three EPs introduced her as someone unafraid to blur genre lines, questioning the usefulness of such divisive tags to begin with. (They were appropriately titled Rap?, Pop?, and R&B?) Earlier this year, Whack finally released her debut studio album World Wide Whack (Interscope), and it's a proper emotionally complex follow-up to the identity struggles of Whack World. Sure, she flexes her rapping prowess and overall aura. "I make a dollar every time that my heart beats," Whack declares on "MS BEHAVE"; on "CHANEL PIT", she claims that--yes--at her concerts, the "mosh pit smell like Chanel." Much of World Wide Whack, though, is melancholy, delving into her anxiety and struggles with friendships and relationships. The nervous R&B of "BURNING BRAINS" is the sound of sensory overload, complete with pitch-shifted, molasses sweet, indecipherable backing vocals. On "IMAGINARY FRIENDS", built around a surf rock guitar line and minimal drums, she sings, heartbreakingly, " My last best friend, said he wish he didn't know me / His name was Oscar and he really hurt my feelings / When I grow up I want to hang from a ceilin'."

Whack often spits around understated, minimal production, and she references suicidal thoughts numerous times throughout World Wide Whack. But the album is not defeatist; instead, it's a statement of triumph despite her troubles. On "27 CLUB", talking through her ideations, Whack almost acts like her own guardian angel, showing herself what life would be like if she were gone. And the most joyous song on the record is "SHOWER SONG", a slice of Southern-fried synth funk about the joys of--you guessed it--singing in the shower. She adopts a nasal vocal style as if to emphasize her carefree attitude towards how she sounds, a moment where the ultimate curator is instead finding strength in her vulnerability.

It does take a good curator to put together an unforgettable live hip hop set, and Whack's likely to cull from her instant classic mixtape and new record at Riot Fest. Whether her mosh pit will smell like Chanel? To be determined.

[prettyfamous]

Scarlett Johansson | Prada Galleria Bag | Ale Da Corte | May 2023