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Sam O’Hare’s “The Sandlot” is an absolute masterpiece. It certainly helps that its subjects are the buildings, people, and public spaces of Manhattan and Brooklyn, but it’s the impeccable composition and delicate pace with which they are handled that really shines.

It’s comprised of more than 35,000 still photographs shot over five days and two nights in August of 2009, a herculean effort in and of itself. Each image was manually tilt-shifted and then assembled in time-lapse. What you see here is New York in miniature, yet vivid motion. It’s more humane, more comprehensible, and more attainable, all things not often said about it.

While you can watch it here, it’s worth clicking over to Vimeo to watch “The Sandlot” in full-screen high-def.

As for the music by Human, owners of what looks to be a website designed and developed in the late ’90s (no, that’s not a compliment), Sam says:

I wanted the track to speak to what it is like to experience the many rhythms, pulses and moods of the city and the composition, especially the peak, does this beautifully. The vocals add narrative and pacing to the piece, and really help draw you through it.

Yes, and how. This track, untitled and completely unavailable as best I can tell, would fit perfectly in the Morr Music catalog, slotted between Styrofoam and The Go Find. The male vocals are gentle but spirited, calm but not sedate, and the female vocals remind me of Kirsty Hawkshaw’s work on Opus III’s “It’s a Fine Day,” perhaps best known as the sample in Orbital’s epic “Halcyon and on and on.” High praise indeed.

The lyrics are stunning, especially the last line and inspiration for the title of this post:

Here we go
Start over
Motion fills the air

C’mon c’mon
C’mon c’mon
C’mon c’mon now

And we know
The fragments
Revealing all the patterns
everywhere

C’mon c’mon
C’mon c’mon
C’mon c’mon now

And we are
The story
Turn the page
And see what happens next

Here we go
Here we go
Here we go

We walk outside
All afternoon
All afternoon
All afternoon

All afternoon

Over and over
All afternoon

Rivers of light
Flowing home again
A flicker and its gone

As much as I love music, I often find that the video gets in the way. I can think of only a handful of that serve as more than just a compliment, they provide a means to access the music in a totally new way, something like The Books “Smells Like Content” (like tiny fragments of a finger snap). I will always love this quick “Glowing Cities Under a Nighttime Sky” clip, but the music is secondary. The only one that really comes close is this gem by Andrew Paynter for Tortoise:

That’s the San Francisco I know and love, so cool and crisp, but it pales in comparison to the warmth and glow of Sam’s New York. Makes me wonder why I’m still here and not there.

Like everyone, I imagine, my life’s soundtrack is meticulously edited, intensely personal, and ruthlessly guarded. There are several themes that run the course of my current tastes, and over time we’ll dive further into them. One, though, is the central theme, and as such, must be addressed first. This is convoluted, so hang close…

Finding and buying (my) music is almost as much of a thrill as hearing it for the first time. Two reasons, as best I can tell. First, I gotta thing for the new. Always liked the idea of Nietzsche’s “new ears for new music.” Second, I gotta thing for the purchase, the transaction. No shame here, I’m a consumer.

Warp Records, as you’ll see over time, is a constant, and Bleep is quickly becoming an addiction. I was skeptical at first, I honestly wanted/expected them on the ITMS, but I couldn’t be happier (and shouldn’t be at all surprised) that they chose a different path.

Bleep is an incredible achievement. Clearly very thoughtful work here. The app? website? store? behaves well, is beautifully rendered, and is stocked to the gills with goodness. More on this topic soon enough…

Always felt that Warp’s dominance of its domain had legs, but never thought that another could rise to prominence so quickly. Morr Music has arrived. The new Styrofoam release is simply stunning.

“Nothing’s Lost” was released in the EU last Monday, but will not be released in the States until the end of November, so I was scrambling to find it. Then, out of the blue, Bleep adds Morr Music on Friday. Saved!

I’m on my 15th listen, give or take, and I’m stuck by how graceful, how eloquent, how perfect this release is. I’m literally floored. Think of “Every Man and Woman is a Star” — what’s your favorite song? Even your least favorite, even the one that sounds like something you wouldn’t allow in your collection, catches you. Stella!

The new Styrofoam is that good. But I couldn’t just come out and say only that. And the search for it was almost as satisfying, and kinda reaffirming. It’s been a beautiful and productive weekend, and this release is icing on the cake.