Merrilee's Trouble In Paradise Cassette

This ripped-from-cassette mixtape was originally created for the lovely Ms. Merrilee Challiss (you may recall Merrilee's exquisite Tony Orlando Mix from way back in '09!) ...

Here's Merr herself to enlighten you on this intensely fun-filled mixtape =



Notes on a mix-tape:

"Trouble in Paradise" was given to me by my ex-boyfriend, sometime between 1996-1998… in which case I was either living in Prague, Czech Republic (1996), Birmingham, Alabama (1997) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1998), respectively. The details of its provenance are hazy, although if my fractured memory serves correct, I remember him being especially proud of this particular mix, which would date the mix to a time during the latter part of our relationship, when he was at the full height of his sound-mix-collage-making skills, mashing up some of the earlier Prague-era mix-tapes with later Northern New Jersey (WFMU) collage-tapes made after we moved back to the States.

In the mid 90s, while living in Prague, we spent untold hours, when not drinking in bars, listening to and taping from the radio - recording snippets from the BBC, VOA, as well as local and regional stations, which played incredibly diverse and disparate music, providing a richly surreal, textural backdrop to our Slavic adventures.

Careening from the raucous to the sublime -- from punk to polka, from Essential Logic to a drunken John Wayne sound-bite -- the tape captures the dizzying sense of dislocation and discovery I felt at that time in my life, in my mid-twenties, when just about anything seemed possible. Listening to the tape now, many years later, i can still recall every transition, every twist and turn, and although the soundtrack is familiar, it's also like a dream -- or rather, listening to it is dream-like, inducing in me a heightened state of awareness -- that, even now, many things are still possible."

Merrilee Challiss
February 2011


Thanks, Merrilee! Sadly, there is no track list for this particular mixtape ... just pure, unadulterated random radio madness! To download this mix, simply click the little arrow located on the right side of the widget ... ENJOY!








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In art news, I'll be having a show with fellow Birmingham artist, Justin Wayne Butts at Parkside Cafe (located in the Avondakle area) ... the show will open Thursday night, March 24th (8 - 11p) ... Here's the flyer =







Speaking of Avondale, I've been working and working on the 3 signs that will grace the front of the building of the forthcoming Avondale Brewing Company ...


Here is a photo of the humble beginnings of the main one =




And here's a detail of the same sign after completion =




These are the sections of the other 2 signs before being hinged together =








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Hey! How about watching a few videos now? Well, OK







This is a pretty great one by a band called Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk =

A new one from Wavves =




It's nice watching this one from The Walkmen now that the weather is like 70 degrees outside ... haha =



Speaking of The Walkmen, it's also nice watching this one knowing that Spring is right around the corner! =




A backwards mess compliments of Peter, Bjorn and John =



Awesomeness from Protect-U =




Ryan recently posted this (pretty amazing) unofficial Panda Bear video (cheers!) =




A hot fresh and creepy-crawly Caribou clip =






Dessert, anyone?



1st up, some Japanese inocular soccer !!!




And Elise sent me a heaping helping of solid potato salad (mmm! thanky!), saying this :
"You so have to loop this in a crazy video - or at least some of this!" =




Here's my favorite scene from the 80's movie, "The Money Pit" (wish I could find a better quality version!) =





And now ...it's the Thom Yorke Comedy Show!

Alan Barton posted this 1st one (thanks!) ... I had tears in my eyes I laughed so hard! haha =




Part 2 was posted by Andy Stewart ... and I can't decide which is funnier! (gracias!) =