Going for Guilty Pleasures

Sometimes doing research in your area of interest seems like a guilty pleasure. Should you really feel that way? If you like something and want to know more about it, it's as worthy a use of your time as anything else.

There, in that one day Gemini horoscope, is the rationalization for my entire life, or at least for me following my curiosity wherever it takes me. So after a morning of writing up my interview with non-jam band Railroad Earth, here, I was free to satisfy my curiosity at Studio 23 Gallery, recently moved from Plant Zero to Main Street and with, what else, music (well, sort of).

Their new studio is bigger and better than the old digs; the coolest part is that it boasts a blackboard to-do list on the inside of the front door. There's a way to keep an artist's chore list in plain sight.

I was meeting some guys to check out Studio 23's third annual show of art inspired by the mixtape, "Mixtape 3-D." I actually had a mix tape in the first show back in 2008, but this new show was more about the case than the music.

In fact, only three of the pieces even had playlists, which was a surprise to all three of us (and both of them had participated in the 2008 show, too, so they knew from mixtapes).

One that did was two sided, consisting of "Songs to Drink By" (naturally Tom Waits was on there) and "Songs to Recover By," containing the most random song on any mixtape made this century, "Brandi (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass. It actually made my jaw drop in amazement when I saw it.

Another mixtape was directed at how to be hipster, with a playlist of all the indie favorites (Mumford and Sons, Temper Trap, et al) as well as a list of rules for hipster compliance.

Most rang true (don't bathe often; ride your bike everywhere), but I'd be inclined to take issue with the one stipulating that hipsters never dance because they're too cool. Has this guy been to a dance party at 534 or the Nile? Hell, even Ipanema's big anniversary bash was full of dancing hipsters.

Probably my favorite piece was the cross section of the tape case with the actual tape pulled out and arranged above and below in a most artistic manner. Another one was opened up and painted to look like a bronze sculpture.

Some submissions were less literal, not even employing the case or tape. All were clearly made by true fans of the art form.

But being a Gemini, I really wish I knew what music was playing in their heads while they created their masterpieces.