Free Music Trick or Treat!

Whenever I can carve out enough time to go through our email, it proves to be a worth exercise.

Yeah yeah Roctober is over, and we’re moving back to free reign on random subject matter, and I’m totally cool with that. But first I thought I’d offer a mix of the latest greatest submissions to our BOTG mailbox.

This may be no big deal to those of you who don’t like music, or who only buy shit when a song makes it to your radio station. But to an addict like me, who is always open and searching for bands I can love, the idea that all these people send us their music at absolutely no cost and with only the slight hope we might promote them on our site, it’s like Halloween every time I listen. Sure, some of the candy kinda sucks, but it was still given freely, and I can throw away or give away the confections I don’t like.

The list of impressive up-and-comers (and in some cases people who have alreaday made it) is fun, and all they’re asking is for you to take a listen and consider buying their album.

Fall BOTG Mailbox Mix

1. Crows & Locusts - Brooke Fraser
   Her promotional material compares her to Feist, and who am I to say, but I find a lot more similarity with A Fine Frenzy. The regular references to nature, this strange undercurrent of longing over simple piano arrangements. I’m not surprised this album made its way onto the iTunes charts. Ms. Fraser can craft some tasty vittles... I mean, if you like those Feisty, Frenzy kinds of sounds.
   Official Website
   
2. Tracey - The Lines
   They sent a single, so I can’t judge more than what you can listen to yourselves. Catchy and repetitive.
   Official Website
   
3. Fool’s Union - City And The Sea
   The promos claim it’s a mix of “Detroit soul and... Brit rock.” I get the Brit rock part, but the Detroit soul is a little less obvious to my tinny ears. That said, they have a catchy sound and some decent chops. Their EP’s eponymous song, “Leave a Light On” is tasty candy.
   Official Website
   

4. Velcro Shoes - Pete Yorn
   OK this one stunned me. This is Pete Yorn’s sixth album (if you include his joint effort with Scarlett Johanssen) and the fourth I now own. His newest was produced by none other than former Pixies frontrunner Frank Black -- not a combination that screamed of obviousness to me -- and the sound is a nice change-up for Yorn. It’s dirtier. You can hear his voice breaking or slightly off on a note. Removing the polish gives Yorn a little more grit, and it works for him. At moments, one song can bleed into another in a not-so-good way, as in sometimes individual songs don’t have quite enough individuality. But it’s a damn fine album regardless. (Besides, he says "Billy" a lot. Which is cool.)iTunes page
   

5. The Father - HoneyChild
   Can’t say exactly what it is, but I dig this song. Good slow build. Something about the guitar work and the chorus that reminds me of Toad the Wet Sprocket. I would have loved an entire album from these folks. And guess what? Go to their web site, and you can actually get the whole thing for free...
   Official Website
   
6. Cliche - Paper Aeroplanes
   Yup, this song geeks me out quite a bit. As in, it’s right down my alleyway. The world could use a few more Welsh pop chanteuses if you ask me. If they were available on eMusic, I would already own the whole album. As it is, I’m chewing on getting to them through iTunes.MySpace page
   
7. Dawning - Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck
   This might well piss Bow off, but the first two seconds of this song had me thinking immediately of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. Personally, I don’t think of that or intend that as an insult, but insults are often in the eye of the receiver. This was another 1-song gift, so I don’t know how this compares to the rest of their work. But if they string together an album of this level, it would be a decent purchase.Official Website
   
8. Quick Escapes - Versant
   Not crazy about it, but it’s offbeat electro-pop with a female lead singer who has some talent. The kind of songs that, if they came on my shuffle, I wouldn’t scurry up from what I was doing to skip to the next song, but I wouldn’t go searching it out too voraciously, either.
   Official Website
   
9. Heaven - The Brute Chorus
   Overall their album failed to stick with me, but a couple of the songs had some life in them, and “Heaven” was one of ‘em.
   
10. What We Kick, Push - The White Panda
    We don’t get many rap or hip hop submissions, and the ones we get frequently sound like they were mixed in some pasty white dude’s basement outside of Winnipeg. This one won’t be topping the charts anytime soon, but at least it’s fun and seems to understand its own limits.
    
11. I Believe In You - Black Dub
    Name dropping can get me. This band is the brainchild of one Daniel Lanois, a big name in specific music circles (U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan), so I was instantly intrigued. If I were more into the bluesy jazzy thing, maybe?
    
12. Morning - Daddy Lion
    These guys seem to be getting some positive vibes from NPR among others, and I can see why. They don’t get me all goosebumpy or anything, and it’s a bit of a stretch to see why they’d compare themselves to Husker Du or Dinosaur Jr., but totally worth inclusion in the mix.
    Official Website
    
13. Does It Still Hurt - John Hill
    The stripped-down singer-songwriter must be pitied. He must be dedicated. She must like being ignored or unappreciated. It’s a miserable thing to make decent music that, in all likelihood, only your own pets will ever hear more than once or twice. Take a listen to Mr. Hill. It ain’t bad.

Artful Arrangements Part II

This is Part II of my "Artful Arrangements" ongoing series, a compilation of images from all over the web showing gorgeous and eclectic examples of framed artwork and other wall decor that have been artfully arranged in eye pleasing ways.  To me, wall decor should be seen as a type of decorative vignette with different colors, shapes, textures and materials that all strive to give a room life, personality, individuality and overall character.

There are a lot of great ideas in this post to help you start your very own art wall vignette, or perhaps inspire you to work on the one you already have or just motivate you to finally hang up all that art you have stashed away!!

If you are the type who can never get anything up on the wall out of fear that it won't look right, here are some of my tips:

- First, arrange and rearrange all frames and objects to your liking on the floor in front of the wall where you want to hang it OR use brown paper grocery bags to cut out the shapes of your frames and other objects and then play with them on the wall to see what looks best (when you're done you can even hammer your nail right through the paper to mark the exact spot!) 

- Second, make sure to mix different colors, shapes, textures and most importantly: objects!  Throw in an antique key, shadow box, cross, mirror, candle holder or anything that you can find a way to hang that looks good up on the wall.  Variety creates a worldly, eclectic and collected look that can give a room great personality!

- Third, JUST DO IT!  Trust me, just get it up on that wall, you'll feel a lot better and so will your space!

 

If you like this post be sure to check out Artful Arrangements Part I or Beautiful Wall Decor and Art: Plates: Part I for lots more beautiful and inspiring images!

Enjoy!

 

 

(All images via a Google image search on framed art and wall art vignettes, I do not claim ownership of any of these images.  If  any of these images are yours and you would like them tagged/linked or removed please feel free to e-mail me)

Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns by Ray Villafane

Good day readers!

Today I am sharing with you some images depicting the incredible pumpkin carving talent of Ray Villafane!  A few days ago I got one of those forwarded Halloween e-mails from someone in my family and I almost deleted it...  Well, good thing I didn't because I would have missed out on these spectacular carved Jack-O-Lanterns!  Aren't they awesome!?  

Ray Villafane is an artist from Queens, New York who does work for DC Comics and several other companies, he also remains the winner of the Food Network's pumpkin carving challenge every year since 2007.  For more information on when to catch this year's Food Network challenge, Outrageous Pumpkins, click here.  Also be sure to check out Ray Villafane's website Villafane Studios for a more on this talented artist!

I am very impressed by the amount of detail in each one.  I consider myself a pretty good artist, but only when it comes to certain mediums (particularly pencil and charcoal), however maybe I should give intricate pumpkin carving a try one year.  Hmmm, my mom has some hangin' out at her front door, should I give it a go this year?  Perhaps, we'll see if time allows...

So, speaking of Halloween, what is your costume this year?  I am going to be lazy and dress as a hippie, like always!  For the last couple years that has been my costume, I suppose it's because I'm so naturally good at it!  HAHA...  Yes, I'm a natural at it.  That makes me want to do a post with some images of all the hippie Halloweens of my past....  Will do!  In the meantime, enjoy the images in this post and hold tight for more Halloween posts coming right up! 

For more information on Ray Villafane and his artwork, please visit his website Villafane Studios or visit his Facebook fan page here to see lots more incredible images of his work!

 

 

(All images via a Halloween e-mail and I'm assuming must be property of Ray Villafane)

Mixin' Up A Witch's Brew of Halloween Tunes

For those of you who don't tend toward the musical or who don't have the time in a world paced in microseconds to click on a song and listen to it, thank you for indulging us for this all-music month. I fear that a certain job malaise seeped into even these posts. Please know that we are ready to return to our usual societal noodlings and attempts to vent frustrations and still not to get ourselves fired.

Still, Halloween remains.

Perhaps some of these tunes will add to your enjoyment of this weirdest of holidays, a night that my little corner of the world and the city that I live in has had the hardest of times figuring out how to schedule. Halloween on a Sunday conflicts with church, with spirituality, and so we have bounced back and forth three times now (so far) trying to figure out whether Saturday or Sunday is the proper night for children to walk around a neighborhood and collect candy.

My apologies to the great bloggers out there--I've been picking and choosing favorites from among your stuff, while mixing in some of my own, and, at this point, I'm not even sure where all of it came from. So, I acknowledge all of you and your wonderful work posting for our mutual enjoyment.

Halloween is a great time for music because you can get a little weird and you can explore your darker side and you can have a little fun. It is also a fitting end to Rocktober because all of us expect Halloween to rock, at least a little bit. Hopefully, I do a bit of that here. The Crystal Castle song may not quite fit thematically, but it certainly fits sonically and it is a great Robert Smith song.

May your demons be imaginary and not ones that actually enter your house and your psyche and leave you lying awake at night listening for their return!

Bright Eyes--"Devil Town" (mp3)

Broken Social Scene--"Romance To The Grave" (mp3)

She and Him--"I Put A Spell On You" (mp3)

Ryan Adams--"Halloweenhead" (mp3)

The Doors--"People Are Strange" (mp3)

Crystal Castles (feat. Robert Smith)--"Not In Love" (mp3)

The Pierces--"To The Grave" (mp3)

Beck--"Devil's Haircut" (mp3)

Jellyfish--"Season Of The Witch" (mp3)

Freedy Johnston--"The Mortician's Daughter" (mp3)

Fairport Convention--"Tam Lin" (mp3)

Evangelicals--"The Halloween Song" (mp3)

Gillian Welch--"The Devil Had A Hold Of Me" (mp3)

John Carpenter--"Halloween main theme" (mp3)

Spoon--"The Ghost Of You Lingers" (mp3)

A Study In Reverb

Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed.^[1] A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air.^[2] This is most noticeable when the sound source stops but the reflections continue, decreasing in amplitude, until they can no longer be heard. The length of this sound decay, or reverberation time, receives special consideration in the architectural design of large chambers, which need to have specific reverberation times to achieve optimum performance for their intended activity.^[3] In comparison to a distinct echo that is 50 to 100ms after the initial sound, reverberation is many thousands of echoes that arrive in very quick succession (.01 - 1 ms between echoes). As time passes, the volume of the many echoes is reduced until the echoes cannot be heard at all. --Wikipedia.com

Mazzy Star--"Fade Into You" (mp3)
George Harrison--"Awaiting On You All" (mp3)

Reverb is like salt. For most aural palates, a light sprinkling of it makes music sound better. It, too, is a flavor-enhancer, one that gives both depth and complexity to any kind of music. Like salt, it is found in nature, though not always in usable form, and methods can be introduced to concentrate and enhance it. Like salt, too much of it can overwhelm everything else that is on the palate.

Reverb is like a 3-D movie, only kind of in reverse. Rather than send images racing towards your face, it recreates the sounds of a room and gives them depth.

Harmonies are richer with reverb. The quavering voice conveys even more emotion. The sinister sounds more sinister.

John Lennon, in his latter years as a Beatle, and especially during his solo career, became a reverb junkie, especially where his voice was concerned.

Sam Phillips, the ex-wife of T-Bone Burnett, once recorded a CD with no reverb on her vocals as an "innovative" technique to give the music starkness.

There are particular songs that are hard to imagine without their reverb component. Roger Daltrey's scream near the end of "We Won't Get Fooled Again" would not achieve its incredible crescendo. Every song by the Doors gets its creepy feel from reverb. "Sympathy For The Devil" would not have a rich, percussive opening without it. Patsy Cline might not have a career.

Try listening to the two songs above. Both have heavy reverb. One works, I think. One doesn't. On every song I've ever heard from Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval's voice is drenched in reverb; I have three of their cds. It is, without a doubt, the main signature of their sound, that plus the downer, minor key nature of the vocals. But I think it works. It gives her a kind of gothy/emo vibe to a sound which, stripped of everything else, is actually kind of country in its simplicity and its chord changes. But if you listen to her a lot, or if you just listen to this most popular of their offerings, you know she's going to take a mopey, depressed attitude toward whatever she is singing about. "I think it's strange you never knew," she sings, and the music echoes that strangeness.

Harrison's song, by contrast, is a peppy, up-tempo religious number. It's a song I like, but in its live version. "Just chant in the name of the Lord and you'll be free," he sings. It's a happy song, but it sounds like it sounds like it was recorded inside a hookah (or Davenport Gym). In his arrangement, which has a lot of instruments, everything is swamped in reverb. By using the reverb effect to push all of the instruments and all of the background vocals deeper into the mix, Harrison (or his producer, if it isn't him) creates mud. Too much reverb + too many instruments creates a mess where individual performances become part of a "wall of sound," to use the Phil Spector label.

Maybe it worked with the Ronettes, when you had Ronnie Spector's powerful, immediately-recognizable voice as the basis for a song, but Harrison's voice is thin and weak, and he gets as lost in the mix as everything else.

Arguably, more than anything else, it is the use of reverb that distinguishes the rock sound. Other recordings before rock based their recordings on the sonic qualities of the room, choosing a room, or hall, or other space that would be sympathetic to the sound that a performer was trying to create. But when rock and roll dropped the "and roll," and even before, and became a bigger, richer sound, the most effective way to give everything from the snare drum to the power chords the guitarist was playing some depth was to attach a bit of reverb to it.

Not too much now, unless you really know what you are doing.

Pakobel Inc.: Suzani Auctions

 This post is for all my fellow Suzani lovers!!

As I've discussed in several previous posts, one of my good friends from college runs his family carpet business called Pakobel Inc./Pakobel Rugs and they have a great Ebay store!  Just the other day I won two auctions for gorgeous suzanis, read about that here!  So, I thought I'd put together a quick little post with all of the suzani's currently up for the bidding just in case any of my readers are interested....

Below you will find image collages for all of Pakobel's current authentic hand-embroidered suzani's from Uzbekistan showing the full suzani and detail images.  To visit the full auction listing for an item, simply click on the description below the image to be redirected.  All auctions start at $40 with free shipping and handling, please note  some suzanis may not be new but are always in great condition, every auction gives specific description details so be sure to read the listing carefully!  I hope you find something you love... oh yeah, and good luck bidding!

(P.S. - if you don't know what a suzani is or if you want to see more examples of a suzani check out this post and these posts or just read Wikipedia's description)

7' x 5' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

8' x 4' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

12' x 2' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

7' x 4' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

17' x 2' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

6' x 4' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani

13' x 2' foot hand-embroidered Uzbek Suzani Runner

(All images in this post courtesy of  Pakobel, Inc. Ebay Store)