She moves on

no = sleep positioner

yes = spoons

Quote of the day:
"hat."
-olivia

Angel in the snow

I snapped this picture out the front window after waking from a very restless evening. Maybe it was all of the snow outside. It might as well have been daylight. After settling down at about quarter after 2 in the morn, i slipped a couple buds in my ears and listened to the last half of springsteen's 'workin on a dream.' Perhaps more on that later.

4ish in the morn and i receive a nudge and a request to feed the little bird. After a bottle and another episode of 'theodore tugboat,' she drifts back to sleepytown. A bowl of cereal later and i'm ready to try sleep again. Tossing and turning through an almost complete listening of elliott smith's 'new moon.'

Haunting.

Gorgeous.

One more cup of coffee before i go...

Sleeping lessons

Off The Record :: This Year's Model

There is no doubt that the words and music of one declan macmanus have inspired and moved me on countless occasions. The snarl in the voice, the clever wordplay, the raging melodies, the hipster specs, for all of these reasons and more i devoured his debut record 'my aim is true' and every raw demo included in the 1993 rykodisc reissue. It wouldn't be too long after, while rifling through the secondhand vinyl at a half price book store, that i would happen upon a copy of elvis' followup to that brilliant debut.

As soon as i pulled the sleeve from the rack i could read the track listing printed on a label pasted across the album's title at the bottom of the cover. The label read 'demonstration not for sale' which may or may not be the title of my next record... but i digress. I'm a little embarrassed now to admit that only a couple of the 'suggested tracks' (as they were referred to as on the demo label) were familiar titles at the time. However, they were familiar enough to coax my hand into the old wallet to lay down a couple deceased presidents. Let's be honest, that cover shot alone (as seen below) warrants a sizable price tag.

It's almost hard to move past that album cover, but what about the contents?

Elvis may be king, but when needle hits the groove, it is certainly evident that the uncredited trio surrounding his highness are why this record and so many following it simply kick the listener in the proverbial hindquarters. This was costello's first album with the attractions and for many they are synonymous with everything he has done great musically. I don't necessarily belong to that club, but there is no denying the sheer raucous attitude in the high end bass riffing of mr. bruce thomas, the frenetic drums of mr. pete thomas and the unforgettable hypnotizing keys of the incredible steve nieve. Unable to pigeonhole 'this year's model' as simply punk, new wave or rock and roll, one can only describe this record as vintage elvis costello & the attractions.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, this particular copy of 'this year's girl' is the US version which was released two months after the original release in the UK. This version unbelievably excludes the bombastic '(i don't want to go to) chelsea' and original closer 'night rally' from side 2 for reportedly being 'too english.'

Wankers.

Novices will however most likely recognize the equally brilliant hit 'radio, radio' as the superb substitute finale.

If you're new to elvis & the attractions, let's call this a primer to their body of work.

Dig it.

Side One

1. No Action
2. This Year's Girl
3. The Beat
4. Pump It Up
5. Little Triggers
6. You Belong to Me

Side Two

1. Hand In Hand
2. Lip Service
3. Living In Paradise
4. Lipstick Vogue
5. Radio, Radio

Bonus: '(i don't want to go to) chelsea' in all its glory

You can never hold back spring

Move-busting outfit courtesy aunt patti.

The ball rolling on change.

Kissing the lipless

I'm finishing up a new album of original songs and calling it 'kiss it all goodbye.' I decided to invite a bunch of people to get together to hear some of these and other songs performed live upon the album's release. The album will be available in the popular cd format packaged with original hand printed artwork, lyrics and more for the price of $10. There may even be free coffee if you're nice.

The shindig goes down at southminster presbyterian church on march 7th starting at 7 o'clock in the pm.

I would love to have you there to share in this evening of art and song and community.

Bring a friend and a casserole if you wish.

Bringing sexton back

sex·ton \ˈseks-tən\ n, : a church officer or employee who takes care of the church property and performs related minor duties (as ringing the bell for services and digging graves).

Off The Record :: Moondance

pho·no·graph \ˈfō-nə-ˌgraf\ n,: an instrument for reproducing sounds by means of the vibration of a stylus or needle following a spiral groove on a revolving disc or cylinder.

As far back as i can remember, i've found great aural stimulation from the snap crackle and pop of a record needle being slowly pulled through the groove of a dusty piece of vinyl. Not only would a plastic yellow turntable and a colorful stack of lp's and 45's provide a soundtrack for my formative years, but they could also inspire and provide tools of creativity. A record designed for 33 and a third rpms could become an entirely new listening experience when sped up to 45 rpms. Shift those gears into neutral and the turntable would become all loosey goosey allowing a record to move backward and forward as the hand felt so inclined. Hours were spent listening, singing, playing and discovering through the magic of the invention of phonograph.

I remember having a recent conversation about music with a work partner who claimed to be a fellow dylan admirer. However, when asked what his favorite dylan album was, he looked me over as if i had just asked him which hand he preferred to cut lines of coke on a hooker's chest with. When i pressed him further, he defended his lack of education in the album department on something to do with living in the digital itunes pick and choose playlist yakity smakity album question mark era. As a tear softly crawled from the corner of my wistful eye, he gave me a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder and carried on with his tasks.

It was this not so pivotal moment which led me back to my stack of records. Half of them have been marred and scarred by the great basement flood of 2007. Many of the polychromatic paper sleeves had been destroyed altogether leaving their sonic partners in nothing but a sheer slip or else completely naked. Longing to preserve the majesty of these old friends in this age of digital file sharing, i have been compelled to jumpstart a new era of a rockey home companion (an aural supplement). Under the moniker OFF THE RECORD, we will be sharing our vinyl collection with you our guests. So without further ado we introduce...

It was sometime around my sophomore/second year of a six year tenure at a reputable school located in muncie, indiana that i happened upon today's selection. I recall some sort of vinyl record convention taking place in the student union and took it upon myself to peruse the offerings. Now, by this point i've been collecting records here and there for a few years. Goodwill stores, Half Price Books and independent record stores were my hunting grounds of choice. According to my own guesstimation, i had a fairly sizable collection to my name for a kid with my income (or lack thereof) and thrifty spending habits. I apparently had a particular fondness for records from the sixties and seventies. Dylan, lennon, mccartney, joel, elton, the who, simon, stevie, zeppelin, what have you; these are the names what made varied appearances and multiple rounds upon my turntable. However, I had absolutely no titles in my collection by the man generally known as van.

When i picked up van morrison's 1970 album moondance for a fistful of dollars at this previously mentioned record ordeal, i had absolutely no idea what an incredible listening experience this would be for years to come. Though unfamiliar with over half of the cuts on this record at the time, those pensive glances framed in a well-groomed beard and warm chromatic tones on the album's cover told me that this piece of vinyl would be a timeless addition to my collection.

Following on the heels of his previous melancholy masterpiece, astral weeks, moondance continues morrison's eclectic exploration of musical genres including jazz, r&b, folk, country... to incredibly satisfying ends. For me, the whole tone of the album evokes the feeling of being a child running through mountains of multicolored leaves on a crisp yet sunny autumn morning. It is festive and poetic. It is rebirth. Acoustic guitars, trilling pianos and flutes cradle and propel lyrics about childhood memories, gypsies and crazy love. The musical arrangements stand up perfectly on their own, but it is the soulful irish wail of mister morrison as he dances and plays with those arrangements which strokes my soul and demands that i flip the disc on it's back side to start all over again.

Dig it.

Side One

1. And It Stoned Me
2. Moondance
3. Crazy Love
4. Caravan
5. Into the Mystic

Side Two

1. Come Running
2. These Dreams of You
3. Brand New Day
4. Everyone
5. Glad Tidings

What goes on

Former youth ministry student and protege josh is all growed up and serving youth in cincinnati with his wife jennifer. Their youth ministry has officially joined hands with the mustard room as we cranked out a run of white ink on black recycled cotton tees for their winter retreat next weekend.

The book with the green pages is 'jesus wants to save christians' by rob bell and don golden.

Tell the kids.

Basghetti and pom

Olivia is officially twice her birth weight! She measured 25 inches while weighing in at 12 pounds, 10 ounces at her four month checkup yesterday...

Sadly, she also had another round of immunization shots after her checkup and was quite cranky and exhausted the rest of the day.

The changing weather has been wreaking havoc upon our home, but mostly upon ye olde nasal cavaties along with all accompanying plumbing. It is for this very reason and more that i am quite pleased to be home with the jane gals all week. There is much to be done in the realm of finishing some web sitery, tshirt silk screenery and record assemblage.

Magic elixir of pomegranates and berries of blue.

Greens and reds in a festive arrangement for eating.

Spending way too much time looking at hand drawn typography, watching arrested development and making a general mess of a house we almost had cleaned up.

Here we go (in no particular order):
-screen thirty five
-brew some grounds
-eat something
-drain the noggin
-love on the janes

There it is.

p.s. anybody wanna buy a desk?

The mustard room just lost some weight.

All the way home

After four months, we're realizing that it's a good idea to sometimes make a baby take a nap. The first few times, we would set a timer for the longest ten minutes ever as we painfully waited for her to cry herself to sleep.

Surprisingly, sleep would come.

Today, sleep is apparently the last thing our little girl is interested in. Although, after several attempts, she now sleeps as i type this.

She will surely be well rested for another few rounds with curious george.

daddy/daughter

momma/daughter

roller kitty

Some of my favorites from 2008. (bottom right corner is not a real cover, but you should contact scott hensley and ask him how to get ahold of his collection of songs, 'dusk and the noonday devil.')

Finally, spend some time staring at the album cover for animal collective's new album, 'merriweather post pavilion.'

Write a novel about the experience.

good day.

Feelin' fine in two thousand nine

Sauced on the juice.

Find yourself a sonic seasonal greeting here.