Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Merrilee's Tony Orlando Mix

(click above for some amazing found photos)

I decided to let every other week be a "guest mixtape" week ("rain mix side 2" is coming up next week) and the 1st of these guest mixers is the one and only Merrilee Challiss, an amazing artist and owner of the coolest restaurant/bar/venue in town, Bottletree ...

After listening to it a couple of times, I decided that it'd be perfect for:

A. having a good chill day
B. going on a "sunday drive" or bike ride
C. entertaining folks on the porch or patio
D. digging in a garden
E. sipping on a tall cool drink

so here it is for yer enjoyment, Merrilee's Tony Orlando Mix

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This past Friday, Rachel and Joy threw a "Morrissey's 50th Birthday" party and it was loads of fun! I never thought in my life that I'd get into a gladiola battle with Chad! haha ... Bo did the Moz drawing on top of the cake and Rachel piled on the icing pompadour ...here are some highlights:


"Unhappy Birthday, Moz!!!"

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In softball news, not only was last Tuesday nite the historic "Hair Metal Game", but it was also our 1st ever VICTORY!!! In hindsight, I'm so very glad that I chose to bring my cameras to that game! And so, below is the new BNB "metal" theme video, in all it's glory! enjoy!!!







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Oh yeah ... one last thing ... I really love THIS new Grizzly Bear video! The album ("Veckatimest") was actually released this very day!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Rain Music Mix side 1

This mixtape is quite different from the mixtapes of the past, mainly because it literally IS a mixtape of the past! ... haha ... In my Montevallo days, I used to obsess over the vinyl jazz section of their library ... not that it was very extensive or anything ... in fact, I checked the same records out over and over and over to the point where I think for a couple of years I was the only person who ever checked them out ... haha! Anyway, this is when I discovered the indescribable beauty of the music of Duke Ellington ... 

Oddly enough, for a long time I would only listen to his music whenever it rained and stormed ... I can never explain why ... it just seemed (and seems) to fit somehow ... the composition I played by him the most when it rained is a thing called "Black, Brown & Beige" ... That piece ALWAYS makes me think of storm clouds gathering, lightning flashing ... there's even a part (at the start of "Come Sunday") where you can "hear" the raindrops start to plip and plop onto the ground ... haha ... ("Black, Brown & Beige", as a composition consists of songs 1 through 4) ... so at some point, I taped these library records and made myself a "rain music" tape, which was played religiously during every shower or storm that cropped up, literally for years and years ...

So, in that respect, here I have recreated "side 1" of that cassette tape, adding a slight "backdrop" of thunder and rain and wind ... on this side, all of the songs are by Duke Ellington, except for 2 slightly creepy poems by Carl Sandburg (his voice has always been sort of haunting to me) ... side 2 will be next week, and that contains a variety of library jazz records, along with this crazy speaking-in-tongues bit of random A.M. radio I captured!

I decided to recreate the mixtape, not only for preservation's sake, but also because this month it has rained SOOOOO much and I guess I just wanted to, in some way or other, incapsulate these days since I am indeed a huge fan of rain and thunderstorms...

HERE it is, for your rainy jazz-listening pleasure.

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On a softball note, tonite's game will be the first-ever "Hair Metal" game for my team, the Bad News Bearons! We're gonna 80's it up with some teased wigs, makeup and leather! It'll prolly scare the hell out of the other team! In that spirit, I made a very repetitive "BNB" theme (crowd chant) for us tonite, based on AC/DC's song "TNT" ... I'm bringing the camera so there'll prolly be a video to accompany later ... enjoy! 

It's right HERE.






Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Eggling / Birdling Mix


This mixtape was made specifically to be the soundtrack for Peter & I's upcoming art opening, (see above flyer) so I don't really know what else it'd be perfect for ... perhaps:

A. drawing or painting
B. cooking a meal
C. cleaning yer bedroom
D. watching a thunderstorm
E. eating a meal

Anyway, I made 2 different mixes of this particular one, WITH BIRDS and WITHOUT BIRDS ...  (I suggest the WITHOUT BIRDS version for those who want to fully appreciate the songs ... because the bird sounds will serve a purpose at the opening ... otherwise, they might drive the listener mental and get in the way!) At any rate, enjoy! Both Peter & I picked out the songs this time.

So this week has been a bit frustrating because I really enjoy rain and thunderstorms, but because of them our last softball game was cancelled due to poor field conditions, and then after that we had numerous practices in which barely anybody showed up to ... so hopefully the field will be okay tonight, cuz we have a DOUBLEHEADER! Two games in a row ... 

Other than that, I've been painting and painting, working on the collaborations ... They're turning out bizarrely and surprisingly good ...

On a musical note (ha!) ... David posted this insanely hilarious video of Scottie's face super-imposed over moving rollercoaster footage with Scottie saying ridiculous things about "the rollercoaster" ... it all looks very 80's and is way funny! I tried posting the actual video on here, but facebook said NO, so instead I made a song out of the audio from it ... maybe somehow David can put the video on Youtube ... until then though, enjoy THIS!








Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Magic Inside Of You Mix

This mixtape will be perfect for:

A. running wild through springtime landscapes
B. a spontaneous thriftstore excursion
C. spring cleaning (and dancing)
D. practicing softball during a thunderstorm
E. baking peanut butter cookies

You can partake of it right HERE.

This past weekend was a great one ... First of all, Friday nite was the grand opening of the Bici Bicycle Co-op here in B'ham ... there was a bike ride all around town, then a bike race and then a crazy dance party ... i think i danced for one solid hour! Saturday was a little more laid back but I did get some great stuff from Wes at the Bottletree rummage sale and then had fun hanging out with folks while the oncoming storm flashed overhead during the Dead Confederate show that nite ... The next day was madness ... Dan had a vegan cookout brunch so i went over to his place with some pasta i'd made ... Alan & Brianna & Leslie & Josh were there sipping mimosas ... Well, softball practice was supposed to be at 2, but the weather was getting crazy windy and thundery so Rebecca sent us practice cancellation texts and not only did the thunderstorm suddenly arrive with its torrential downpours and huge blasts of lightning, but the mimosas started pouring endlessly and the day-long merriment and mindless debauchery began! What a way to cap off a weekend!

In other news, I made a video for the Bad News Bearons themesong:




And if you want something to make you laugh out loud, try THIS.


HERE are the newest thriftstore fantasies (8 & 9) created for you by Brianna and I.