24 Hours of Radio Art is CITR Radio’s gift to art on January 17 — the birthday of art as first proposed by Fluxus’ Robert Filliou. The event embraces surrealism and anarchy “as a way of rejecting the fascism of the square world; the world which refuses to break free of conventional wisdom and the inevitable war it falls into again and again.” DUPOBS is proud to be a part of the festivities, and will be collaborating with Synaptic Sandwich on a playfully bizarre experiment between the hours of 21:00 and 23:00 PST on the 17th. (That’s 04:00-06:00 GMT on the 18th.) Regardless of self-promotion, DUPOBS highly recommends tuning in and listening to 24 Hours of Radio Art at CITR’s live stream, at any point on Saturday, January 17, from 00:00 to 24:00 PST. (In GMT, that’s 07:00 on the 17th to 07:00 on the 18th).

+Clues

An arbitrary line is drawn in a calendar. A young woman from Portugal arrives in Helsinki with one large backpack on her back and a small one on her front. Someone is very happy. An Anglophone boy gets on the Narita Express with a copy of William Gibson’s Idoru under his arm. Farm labourers in Madagascar prepare another shipment bound for South Korea. Someone listens to The Neon Judgement and thinks it’s extremely mediocre and wonders why the band didn’t just give up. Someone else dies because a bomb was dropped on their house. A couple on Vancouver’s #16 bus wear matching fingerless gloves. Someone is rejected. A middle-aged man reads the French translation of Abe Kobo’s Secret Rendezvous. Somewhere it snows. Elsewhere it is sunny and hot. The polar ice caps melt. DUPOBS release two new tracks from their latest album, Win Some, Lose Some:

1) We’re Just a Bunch of Fun-Lovin’ Guys / Until We Kick Your Head in, Fat
2) Hometown Blues, Bometown Clues

Lazy Crapification

On the twentieth anniversary of their founding in 1988, DUPOBS release

Win Some Lose Some, their fourth album since reuniting in 2002. This is make it or break it time for DUPOBS, a group that has gained critical recognition from the likes of Scotland’s Momus and Japan’s DeliciouSweets, but has yet to deliver a top-40 hit. Hot on the heels of 2007’s industrial-tinged Le Sex L’Ove, DUPOBS return to their rock roots, with a tip of the hat to Foreigner, Loverboy, and John Cougar Mellencrap. Containing more than a few super-catchy pop-rock tunes, Win Some Lose Some could be the breakthrough DUPOBS has been waiting for. And it’s not just the music. This time, DUPOBS pulls out all the stops, with innovative album packaging – made by a groundbreaking new technique called “lazy crapification” – and a fan-donated video for “Our Friendship Is Going To Grow”:

Other tracks with hit potential include “Run Down Home Town (Doin’ Good By His Hometown)”, and “We’re Just A Bunch Of Fun Guys Until We Kick Your Head In, Fat”. Keep your eyes and ears open in the weeks and months to come, as DUPOBS release Win Some Lose Some song by song on Last FM. Spread the word and help DUPOBS make history by giving regressive music the profile it deserves.

The emergence of DUPOBS has undermined any analysis of language as a synchronic system.  This emergence demands reevaluation of the verbal sign.  Whereas other languages depend on fairly static signification, the language of DUPOBS is free of constraints: a signified is rarely referred to by the same signifier twice.  This allows speakers to more accurately express the inner sound – as Kandinsky might call it – of signifieds as they are perceived.  While one thing may be a “k-khlaughredloeux” to one person, it is rather a “hououleu!” to someone else.  To use a Marxian paradigm, the language of DUPOBS has immediate use-value for self expression.  Exchange-value – in that there is a medium of exchange – is almost nil.  If static signification is the analogue of oppressive capital, then the language of DUPOBS is anti-capital.  It is a good idea to speak this language.  DUPOBS’ new album will be announced here shortly.

As a distinct culture on the planet Tlreughhleukh X (roughly pronounced \tluhuk.ks\), DUPOBS is known for its novel adaptation of other traditions. Take, for example, the Japanese tea ceremony from earth. DUPOBS perform an almost identical ceremony called The Japanese Tea Ceremony. The host wears a kimono. The guest receives a cup of tea from the host. The host and the guest bow. The guest raises the cup in a gesture of respect to the host. The guest murmurs a prescribed phrase commending the design of the cup, rotates it twice, and takes a sip. Then, as an innovation to the earth ceremony, the guest, after taking a sip, falls to his left side and lets the tea dribble out of his mouth onto the floor. Constricting his throat, the guest repeatedly screams “Khthleugh! Kthleagh!! Khthleugh!!!” for as many times as possible until he loses consciousness due to asphyxiation.  (It is customary that both guest and host wear light blue socks with a unicorn-and-rainbow pattern.)

It is deeply comforting that Leos Carax’ latest film, “Merde” (in the tripartite omnibus Tokyo!), showcases a close linguistic relative to that rare discourse spoken by DUPOBS.  Through an interpreter, the eponymous main character berates his host culture.  Very soon, DUPOBS will – once again – provide a similar service aimed at popular music.

Le Sex l’Ove is now downloadable in its entirety from Last FM. Stay tuned for a new album, most likely this summer.

In doinkDon.k-^ City, there is a sensoring of effluent. Today here is the song:

Song Twelve – La la Defoulement Rectale

In an off-the-record interview, Meni Forgenbloks, spokesperson for civic opposition O.N.C.E.P., has speculated publicly regarding Ujisten Miterleka’s mayoral bid strategy. Dissatisfied with the leadership of Bonce Eey, Forgenbloks has been “rallying the troops” behind Eey’s re-election strategy. Miterleka, contacted at the N.O.C.E.P. office, was unavailable for comment, but said she will be supporting Forgenbloks as the next runner-up. Real estate developer, Chateau Humple-Crumple, is waiting to see what administrative changes might be implemented with new leadership. Spokesperson Jientus Literemka says there may be a price hike. “I think the prices will go up,” he said, in an interview from his downtown office. “Don’t worry about the government,” he added, “DUPOBS keep you posted on as you crumple.”

Song Eleven – Chateau Humple-Crumple

Cognizant music listeners have, during the last number of months, alerted us to a few more sources of regressive expression. (Again, please refer to the Regressive Manifesto.) In this entry, we shine the spotlight on two. The first, the Japanese duo Kiiiiiii, seem to share a great deal with DUPOBS. Not only are they the same in number, but their performances, viewable at YouTube, are rather similar to those of DUPOBS. What really puts them over the top though, is this:

Truly, great minds think alike. And you’ll know what this means when DUPOBS releases its rock opera – just an album or two away.

Another group, this time from Sweden – and highly deserving of the regressive label – is the enigmatic Långben Går På Zoo. So far all that seems to be available on this group is their Last FM page. If you can provide some insight on Långben Går På Zoo (for example, what do the lyrics mean?) – or any other regressive artist – please be sure to share it at the Last FM Regressive listeners’ group.