swarbles.
sometimes i sing.
sometimes i make things.
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i’m at my psychiatrist’s office and somebody upstairs is playing a very difficult piece on piano and they’re making small mistakes but i want to...
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Music makes the people come together
Holy frack! After lamenting over the absence of one of my most valued creative outlets, I am incredibly happy to...
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there's nothing in the constitution that says a dog can't design and regulate a currency system
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sometimes i name animals i see at the park or on the street and then wonder how they are months later
there is a duck named jimby who i have to...
just had a lovely telephone call with julian. so happy and sleepy.
(does vh1 still do that show, best week ever? if so, i should be on there this week. and baby goats, because baby goats are adorable, and they’re probably having the best week ever, too.)
the past three music tapes releases have contained songs that are less than thirtyfive seconds long that make me cry.
- untitled from mary’s voice.
- 4 from purim’s shadows.
- julian and grandpa from clouds and tornadoes.
i don’t know if i am just too sensitive (that’s a lie, i do know i am too sensitive) or what, but in its short fifteen second duration, this song manages to completely wallop me. maybe also because it’s the lead in to takeshi and elijah, and i have some pretty big feelings about that song. i love it. obviously.
The first video from Mary’s Voice has been released! The video for “S’Alive to be Known (May We Starve)” was directed by Albert Birney, former member of the Spinto Band.
Julian spoke to MTV Hive about the video.
Some of the objects and images that may seem vintage are actually just things or objects that are a part of the Music Tapes world: the sailor playing the white sousaphone is Robby from the Music Tapes and the Sousaphone is one of the horns he plays. The tower with the wooden arms coming out of it is our Organ Playing Tower. The wonderful footage of the swaying Elephant was actually filmed by Robby in person (at a preserve). A lot of these things actually have come over time from family (my grandmother’s basement especially) — and junk stores too.
the loveliest.
i love this so much but it makes me a little sad that julian is potentially going to part with the elephant banjo (my dad still has a neck for at his house, although it looks like julian found one for it). also having to try to figure out what to pledge (or i guess, more accurately, what i want the most) is proving to be really difficult, which i do not want to be limited by my limited funds (my dad said today that he’s hoping to get us caught up at least a little more this week). i will eat rice for the next twenty days. i have no problem with that. and i don’t go anywhere anyway. and i have at least $50 in change right now. so that’ll get me at least to the $200-ish range, probably (i really want a one of a kind music tapes christmas ornament! and a painted saw, but that’s probably not going to happen). i just won’t buy anything at all ever again and eat a lot of rice. okay.
the fourth fanfare for the elephant 6 recording company has been released!
above (or over to the left, depending on where you’re seeing this) is my cover of the music tapes’ “takeshi and elijah,” which hasn’t actually been properly released yet. but takeshi and elijah and i have been friends for a while. i think this makes it okay to have covered.
and below (hopefully; i’m not sure this will work they way i’d like it to) is my cover of the instruments’ “ode to the sea.” i had to use public domain waves because my quests to catch local waves left me empty handed. without waves.
i think you can download those individual tracks in their players (i’m not sure, i’m not really up to speed on bandcamp). or you could get them from their bandcamp pages (takeshi and elijah, ode to the sea).
if you’re an elephant 6 fan, you should check out the whole release on the townhall orchestra’s bandcamp page! there are a lot of great covers this year!!!
From the album Mary’s Voice, out September 4, 2012 on Merge Records.
i just can’t even find words to explain how much i love this. honest to everything, if this doesn’t make you cry and feel melty and good, you should probably check for a pulse.
as an fyi because i asked because i worry about things like this because i worry about everything and i will probably keel over and die if i don’t actually have this in my childsized hands on the day it comes out:
if you preorder mary’s voice and live in the united states and choose the free shipping option, they will actually ship your order a bit earlier to account for shipping time. it doesn’t matter what option you choose, you’ll get your record by/on/around the release date because merge records is good people.
it’s embarrassing that i worry about these things. i swear, i am the most embarrassing person in the world.
the drawing of julian i did for otter.
acrylic, ink, and graphite on canvas paper.
this is on my wall.
julian koster
this is pretty awesome.
also, it reminds me, now that otter has received her gifts, i can actually post the drawing of julian that i did for her.
this is really nice. i wish his socks were green though, but only because he was wearing green socks the first time we met a million years ago. i will just imagine green socks.
and rabbit, please do! my photos came out rather lacklusterly, and you have a nicer camera than i do, and i didn’t take any photos before i framed the drawing, and the frame i’m using covers a bit of the drawing, which is the main reason why i have to get a different frame, ha.
