Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Greg's Retrograde Mix


RETROGRADE

a (1) : having or being motion in a direction contrary to that of the general motion of similar bodies and especially east to west among the stars retrograde for another week> (2) : having or being a direction of rotation or revolution that is clockwise as viewed from the north pole of the sky or a planet retrograde orbit>


b (1) : moving, occurring, or performed in a backward direction (2) : occurring or performed in a direction opposite to the normal or forward direction of conduction or flow




This mixtape was created for by the exquisite Mr. Greg Lowry ... You may remember that Greg presented us this past July with the softly awe-inspiring and emotionally-charged Bed-Sitting Room Mix ...


This time around Greg's mix really reflects the very entertaining and boisterously humorous Bottletree bartender that he is ... This playlist is exciting and nostalgic, wild and unpredictable ... Just perfect for these crisp and chilly early Fall days!



So prepare yourself for the brisk electric-crackly zing of RETRO!!!




Thanks once again, Greg!!!






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Well, I don't feel very "wordy" as of late, so I'll instead fall back on photographic evidence, legends and poetry ...



The Harvest Moon was incredible to witness ... Ryan and I celebrated it by eating a Chinese mooncake and drinking beer by moon & candle light ... :
(I didn't take this photo)





This is from one of my moon books ... I dig it:

"One old legend says that on the Moon is everything that was wasted on Earth: misspent time, squandered wealth, broken vows, unanswered prayers, fruitless tears, unfulfilled dreams and intentions, etc. "





Speaking of Harvest Moons and Autumn, Laura recently sent me this lovely poem by John Yeats ... I find that it really rings in the season ...

thanks, Laura!






TO AUTUMN



Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.








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commissions =









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bathroom ceiling repair =







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Ryan's balloon experiment =

before

after






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IT IS NOW VIDEO TIME =





Deerhunter's epic new album, "Halcyon Digest" just came out and I can't stop listening to it!





Speaking of Deerhunter, Bradford Cox directed this beautiful video for Casino vs. Japan :



Get ready for some retro trippiness, care of Pure Ecstasy:



Speaking of retro and trippy, it's Julian Lynch on Tunnelvision!



This Twin Shadow one makes me laugh :



This Pissed Jeans one makes me want to see them live :



Just in case yer in an early Halloween spook-out mood, Ryan posted this truly frightening "Bjork Stalker" video ... in his own words, "You've been warned" :



Speaking of Ryan, today is his and my 4 month mensiversary (that feels more like 8 months!) ... so I hereby dedicate this one to his greatness:


And last but not least, for dessert, Dani de Luna (otherwise known as DJ Nastique) posted this delightful tidbit (thanks, Dani!!!) ... ENJOY! :





















Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Temperate Mix


This mixtape could be perfect for:

A. Waiting for chilly sweater weather to arrive
B. Celebrating the 1st day of Autumn (this year = September 23rd)
C. Sorting through old clothes (& getting rid of a ton)
D. Cleaning up your room
E. Planning out this year's Halloween costume


Yes, yes! Autumn officially begins THIS Thursday!!! But I'll be damned if it isn't hotter than blazes out there! UGH ... I hung clothes out to dry yesterday morning and they were dry in like 2 hours! How very UN-fallish ...



I'm SO ready for dead leaves and sweaters and chilly gusts and haunted house adventures!




So anyway, here's to hoping for some upcoming TEMPERATE days!!! ENJOY!!!





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I don't have much at all to report this week cuz I've been pretty much taking it easy after all the incessant painting leading up to Art Walk ...


Charley's been my inspiration lately ... She REALLY know just how to take it easy:






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On an entirely different note, the band that Ryan's in, Three Happenin Guys recently posted an entertaining video of their recent 2010 tour ...



dig it:






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On a very terribly sad note, the kittens that once used to live on our front porch got brutally attacked and killed ... it was supposedly a pack of wild dogs that did it, but as of now no one seems to know ... I discovered their bodies scattered all across our yard Sunday morning ... it was truly horrific ... I only found 3 bodies and there were 4 kittens, so hopefully the black one escaped and is still alive ...

Peter buried the 3 in our backyard under the owl statue ... may their tiny, young and beautifully innocent souls rest in peace ...






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And on brighter and random note, my great friend Danny Gamble recently sent me an email about an amusing dream he had concerning me ... It really makes me laugh! Take a look:

"Last night I dreamed that I hired some college kids to build me a shed. As I checked on their progress, I saw that they were using your paintings--hundreds of them-- as lumber. From the outside--unfinished wood; the inside--your work. They even built a picnic table out of a door-sized painting and showed me how the glossy paint repelled water. Each time I checked on their progress, I'd ask where they got the "wood." They always avoided the question. Each I time I grew deeply agitated, but each time I got distracted so I couldn't phone you to see if you'd been robbed.



What could all this mean?"





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In video news, last weekend when Ryan was over I played him this song by Hugo Largo and burned him their "Mettle" album cuz I think he'd enjoy it




Here's the rather incredible video for "Turtle Song" :




Speaking of incredible, take a look at this one by Zach Hill!












I love Stanley Donwood's art ... wish I could make it to this show:



This new Deerhunter song (Ryan bought me the white vinyl single when he was on tour!!!) SO easily gets stuck in one's head ... This is a pretty rad "fan video" for it:



I haven't even thought about Blonde Redhead in a forever-long minute, but this new song by them makes me really wanna hear their new album:












This next one is dedicated to my wonderful, beautiful and amazing sister-of-a-best-friend, Elise ... cuz her birthday will be this coming Sunday!!! I love you, Elise! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!






And once again, my awesome twin brother Peter provided us with a very hilariously bizarre dessert ... Thanks, Peter!!!



My god! I'll have to remember to do her workout more often ... hahahaha:

























Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Brad L's Fly Mix


This mixtape was created for you by one of Bottletree's amazing and talented sound engineers, Mr. Brad Lightfoot ... I was curious as to why he called this rather superb mix "Fly" and here's what he had to say:

"This is all shit I listen to when I'm on airplanes, in the order that I like to listen to them. Most of them help me sleep or are nice background music for looking out the window."


So, whether yer actually on a plane or not, get ready to TAKE FLIGHT cuz it's a real, real good'un!


Thanks, Brad!!!


Speaking of travel, Brad posted (on twitter) this crazy-real surveillance footage video taken on a cruise ship during really heavy seas ... makes me not wanna go on a cruise ... like ever! haha

woah:






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First up in home front news, RYAN'S BACK from his tour with Three Happenin Guys and I'm (we're) soooo happy!!!







And in the "let it grow" project saga, I impulsively caved in and gave myself a moustache ... but everything ELSE continues to grow!





Here's my beloved Charley about to attack what is known as her "crunchy":

And ... she GOT IT!!! :






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In art news, Art Walk has finally come and gone ...


here's a bunch of the stuff I made for it drying on the front lawn:



And ... voila! Here's a bunch of stuff I made for it all set up at Jason Wallis' photography studio, ready to $ell :






There was even some DJ action going on in the same space ...


Here's Jason's son learning all the tricks of the trade very early:




DJ no. 2 was called DJ Love Deluxe and this was her debut performance ...Here's some video of her spinning away:







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HEY KIDS! It's that time again!

what time???

VIDEO TIME!!!!!!



I really dig this'un by Surfer Blood ... it cracks me up in a sort of Pavement way:












And this one by How To Dress Well just sort of rules:


Hey wow! It's Bear In Heaven on the "Don't Look Down" show!













This one by The Bug makes me kind of glad to live in a relatively small city:












Wow ... Elise sent me this whacko-great animated thingy that is actually pretty tough to describe ... ya just gotta see it (thanks again, Elise!!!) :





And finally, for dessert, my brother Peter is treating us to two very bizarre but very hilariously tasty video nuggets ... cheers, Peter!!!


A. (he really NAILED the lyrics!!!)



B. (this makes me laugh so much! I don't understand it at ALL!!!)



Okay okay ... I HAVE to add this one at the last minute cuz it makes me laugh just as hard as the last one does (I have sore ribs from softball practice, so this is killing me! haha) ... thanks, Bo Hughins!!! :