Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Running Paint Mix

This mix tape will be perfect for:

A. painting or drawing
B. running, whether it's up that hill or in place
C. sitting at a window and watching the rain
D. pretending you're in a movie
E. cleaning your room

You can download it HERE.

The other night at Seth's place we (Seth, Brianna, Alan, Christina, Sarah and I) had a Kate Bush party where we watched a ton of Kate Bush videos and listened to a lot of her albums on vinyl ... the funniest thing we did (besides doing goofy and oftentimes pretty embarrassing improvisational dances which seemed to get better with each glass of wine!) was invent a long list of entities (be it people, movies, tv shows, etc) that in one way ripped off Kate (again, the list got better, if not more and more ridiculous and hilarious with every red sip) ... anyway, HERE's the list if yer at all interested ...

and below is the instrumental video to Kate's "Running Up That Hill" (we attempted to do many of those dance moves even if we didn't always achieve the grace and skill of Ms. Bush)




HERE is installment 2 of Mystery Records.









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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Nowhere Trip Mix



This mixtape will be perfect for:

A. getting lost
B. a long road trip
C. a short road trip
D. talking to strangers
E. exploring in general

Download it HERE.

I'd been wanting to take a trip like this for a long time ... just jump in a vehicle and go, not knowing where you're going or caring ... stopping at everything and anything that looks exciting ... not having any sort of plans or destination ...


Chris Lawson was the perfect person to go on a trip like this ... we had a blast, especially looking at and occasionally exploring abandoned houses along the way ... the movie lets you know where it is we ended up stopping and lodging for the night ... the mix tape lets you know what kind of music we listened to along the way ... The Black Lips' new album makes an especially amazing road trip CD, we discovered ... photo-wise, I realize now that I paid most attention to the powerful beauty I find in abandoned and empty places.

It was a wonderful and much needed trip and I look forward to the next one I take, which will be sometime this Summer.

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HERE is the 3rd installment of the thriftstore Mystery Tapes series
 ... enjoy!








Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Night Driving Mix


The above comic was sent to me by my mom ... she said it 
reminds her of me when i was in grade school ... haha!

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This mixtape will be perfect for:

A. some late night driving
B. driving in general
C. sleeping in the backseat
D. tea on the front porch
E. ponderings in the backyard

You can download it HERE.



I spent the 1st part of today sipping coffee with David, then we picked up Walker cuz he's on Spring break and all three of us hung out for a while ... it wasn't very much of a St. Patrick's Day, really ... not that it wasn't a fun day ... I've never really understood the point of St. Patrick's really, except that some people like to drink a lot etc ...weird...

We ended up watching this way mental horror movie from the 70's called "Blue Sunshine"... I wouldn't exactly recommend it, unless you're looking for something to laugh at ... it's absurd and ridiculous, really ... it's full of bad fashion, baldness and LSD ... haha

Anyway, hanging out today with Walker made me remember this crazy adventure we had on the train tracks in Montevallo at the end of last Summer ... It was funny and scary at the same time ... read all about it HERE.

(P.S. The cat in the 2nd to last photo down there 
is my beloved kitty, Charley.)










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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Walking To Abandoned Houses Mix

This mixtape will be perfect for:

A. going on a walk, day or night
B. driving somewhere, anywhere
C. spending time with a pet
D. exploring abandoned places
E. adventures in the woods

You can download it right HERE.

Basically, this time change thing is messing me up...
I had a long list of things to do, but instead me & Brianna
spent the entire day taking a long long walk through the
woods next to the Cahaba River and then exploring a small
neighborhood of abandoned houses, which was amazingly fun
and creepy all at the same time! Brianna took most of the photos
below, but I took some ... we decided that going to sacred / secret
places in the woods, etc is kind of like our version of going to
church, cuz it felt so "special" and "holy" in a way ... what's funny
is that the trail we were walking on ended by this enormous hill and just over that hill was some big expensive church ... uncanny ...

Later at Bottletree, I saw part of a Charlie Chaplin film 
and it showed him wandering around in a field 
and then the text read:

His church, the sky
His altar, the landscape

and i thought "Exactly!" haha ...

In highschool, my dearest friend and sister (even to this day!) 
Elise and I would go on long walks after school and have awesome 
adventures very much like the ones Brianna have been going on 
recently ... and so I'd like to dedicate the above mix to both of them 
for sharing such glowing experiences with me.

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 HERE is the 1st installment of my Mystery Records mixes ... if a thriftstore has vinyl, I usually search through it and the records I buy end up in the "thriftstore section" of my record shelf ...these particular records I don't listen to very often (they are a bit like the vinyl version of the Island Of Misfit Toys), so making these mixes not only gives me a chance to randomly select and explore my purchases, it makes these old rejected records feel loved and wanted!





Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Unexpected Snow Mix

This mix tape will be perfect for:

A. being warm inside when it's cold outside
B. playing in snow, whether it's real or imaginary
C. drinking hot tea or coffee
D. working on something that requires concentration
E. staring into space

Download it HERE


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and now, here's a poem ... it's called


"Source Of The Bells"

It seems that i could have
cut my head right off, riding my bicycle
under ... fast and past the garage door

It is something too much ... for kids
whose moms have always told them
"No"  &  "Twice Before"

But excitement rides ... it's electricity
lightning in the sky
has caught us, just like the bells

We race past barking dogs
under parting clouds and leaning trees

To soon reach it ... the source of the bells

And quickly enough you can behold the icy specter
like a long-lost friend ...
and laugh ... and play

This is success for a kid
this is all that matters

Things must be good ... always
something must be done ... always

There's never any question of
"No"
"Don't"
or
"Twice Before"

It is always something too much 

A something that should always stay too much.

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me & Brianna went to the thriftstore and made music 
with the various toys and instruments we came across ...

You can listen to "Thriftstore Fantasies 3, 4 & 5" right HERE.