me=blogging FAIL

So... yeah. I haven't updated this blog in over a year. Since then I've graduated and received my Master's in Library and Information Science, and gotten REALLY into Instagram (follow me @mcquake01). And I've realized that I'm not a blogger. I'm not even really a microblogger, because I'm not that into Twitter, either. I like Facebook--sue me, haters. It just works in my social media flow, what can I say? Oh, you can check out my stuff and even buy one of my images from my Instacanvas gallery HERE
See you next year!

didn't they tell you no cameras?

Here is a live Prince mix that I made for my friend Sharon, she's a huge fan but would probably never seek this shit out for herself. It's all soundboard recordings from various club and other smaller gigs. The tightness of his band in all the different eras is spectacular--would love to have been present for some of these epic jams!

a little bit of soul

so lately I've been in the mood for a little Northern Soul. maybe I think it's going to encourage the weather to finally warm up, the sun to come out--it's just got that energy, you know? anyway, just in case you want to get a little soul into your life, THIS MIX ought to help you scratch that itch.

goodbye, hometown

The town I was born in--Cairo, Illinois--has, over the years and despite its decline in the 30 years since I left, continued to pop up on the radar here and there. Referenced in works like Twain's Huck Finn, Vonnegut's Deadeye Dick and Neil Gaiman's American Gods, this little town of which I have such fond childhood memories may finally be on the verge of total collapse due to the recent Midwest flooding. I haven't been there in years, but I'm still a little sad to see it facing disaster.

homecoming

Briette's back this evening, but as her flight doesn't get in for several hours I find myself killing time. Making mixes, badges, watching old-time country music documentaries where the audio track doesn't *quite* match up with the video (so annoying). Oh and it's Easter Sunday.

two weeks down, one to go

So I'm sitting here, hiding from the shitty April weather--which just got shittier, as it started to snow on top of the freezing wind, low temps and gray skies--thinking about my girlfriend Briette. She's been gone for two weeks, working a temp gig as a wardrobe stitcher on Norwegian Cruise Line's Spirit. I know, not a bad gig, right?

Three weeks is the longest we've been apart since we met almost three years ago, and I'm not gonna lie--it's been a little tough. Obviously, even by mentioning it (or writing this blog post), I'm being a big whiny baby. I know this. I know that there are far worse problems in the world, and being separated from your loved one for a measly three weeks is not necessarily something worthy of complaint. I know it's a perfect time for me at the end of the semester to focus on getting all my final projects finished and wrap things up.

But still... I miss my baby. So I made this mix.

procrastinating but what am I gonna do?

Should be finishing up my reference class homework, or trying to start writing the introduction for my group's research paper, but instead I'm making a new spring mix out of all the new music I just got recently, and uploading it so you can have it too :-)

that spring 2011 vibe

ahoy, matey!

photo by Jennifer Esperanza

Forget the elephant in the room, look for the Whale

By Joe Collier (former Music Editor, Flagstaff LIVE!; Lumpen)

If you’re thinking about drawing comparisons between Santa Fe male/female rockers Hidden Whale and the now-defunct former poster children of power duos the White Stripes—shut the fuck up right now. Pack up your earbuds, turn off your iPod nano, turn down your collar, finish your fro-yo and GET THE FUCK OUT! Not that there aren’t any to be drawn, of course. It’s just so, well… gauche.

Hidden Whale is Jim Goulden and Angela Gabriel. Like all the truly great Rockers, they are, of course, married. There’s something about that level of conjugal bliss that invents its own communication; it doesn’t take a musical genius—even the casual listener who generally considers whatever music’s playing as a form of audible wallpaper is perfectly able to feel the spooky syncopation of Hidden Whale’s particular style. It’s like marrying each other wasn’t enough for these two fun-loving musical oddballs; they had to marry a predilection for sweet beats to a potent vocal/guitar mix, too. Thank fuck for that.

Those familiar with Goulden’s other band The Gluey Brothers will be pleased to discover that much of the sarcastic sharpness and off-kilter wit he injected there also shows up in HW tracks like “Cell Phone” and “I’m With the Band.” Vocally the two trade off, Goulden’s slightly nasal twang contrasting pleasantly with Gabriel’s sweeter tone (showcased nicely on “Hidden Truth”). Dirty guitar licks sometimes recall an almost Weezer-like fuzziness, but anchored by Gabriel’s solid, concise drumming it tends to go more towards funkiness than indie shoe-gazing territory. Infusing the sound on a basic level is both Goulden’s and Gabriel’s Afro-Pop interest/influence. The bouncy slickness of tracks like “Medication Time” really shows this off, and helps lend the Hidden Whale live experience a (not unexpected) penchant for heavy grooves.

Check them out HERE

Notable to Me In 2010 pt. 2

Gonna pick right up where we left off last time (snowy day, still on break, no reason to even leave the flat):

14. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
Snagged this from my girlfriend, catchy tune. Sometime toward the end of the year i discovered a Dizzee rascal live cover of this, brilliant.

15. Welfare Breed - King Khan & the Shrines
I'd first heard of KK a couple of years ago from my buddy Gooch. He had some albums from KK's BBQ Show project, and we saw them on Halloween 2008--kick ass show, haven't seen a band out of the blue having so much fun and sounding so good in a looooong time. In August Gooch calls me up out of the blue and says he's at their show, come on down. We did, and this song was one of the standouts. If you like 60s soul and groove, check this band out.

16. Erase Me (feat. Kanye West) - Kid Cudi
Kid Cudi is hard to pin down, style-wise. That's usually a good sign someone has managed to come up with a new twist, and so it is with this track. Power through summer with this one.

17. Hard Times - John Legend w/ The Roots
On one level I was kind of disappointed in the collaboration of one of R&B's sexiest voices with hip-hop's most phenomenal live band--expectations WERE a bit high. But repeated listenings has revealed how special this album really is, and this track shows off the spirit of the project. Dig the message along with the chops.

18. Bright Lights Bigger City - Cee-Lo Green
That other track Cee-Lo dropped got most of the attention (deservedly), but this driving 80s throwback track fro the Ladykiller is almost as infectious, and that groove is hard to ignore :D

19. Bed Intruder Song - Observation
The original Bed Intruder song is a classic, and naturally spawned a boatload of covers. Out of about 40, I liked this one the best. Good autotuning, tweaks.

20. The Story of Hip-Hop - The Books
Love this band. Wish I were part of this band. Songs crafted from original intent and music, and samples of other media.

21. Boys Outside - Steve Mason
How many things written about Steve start off with "former Beta Band" something or other? Quality, sincere songwriting crafted with a hip-hop and soul sensibility. Check out the entire album, this title track is just a smidge of the tastiness contained within.

22. Lovely Day (Full Phatt Remix) - Bill Withers
Reminded about this tune when I saw it used in 127 Hours, came home and Briette downloaded a ton of Bill Withers. Wow, had sort of forgotten how amazing he was! Always interested in a good remix, I found this one on some greatest hits collection as an extra track.

23. If You Want To Leave Our Party Just Go - Jonathan Richman
JR is in my Hall of Fame. Browsing iTunes with a gift card I got for xmas, I saw this new album from him. The title of this track was enough to convince me. If you like Jonathan live and wish you could see him in your living room, you will love this.

24. Where Was My Brain - Ted Leo and The  Pharmacists
From Ted's most recent, the Brutalist Bricks. He's back in top form, even more of a Joe Jackson Look Sharp tinge than usual. Sharp, fast and loud.

25. Bad Communication - Sufjan Stevens
Plaintive and forlorn, but still managing to sound lush--typical from this guy, but it still works. This track has some glitchy, trippy electronic vibes reminiscent of Stereolab.


Well, that's it for now. I'll give you time to digest that before blasting you with something else. Comments or suggestions for new music welcome!

 Notable To Me In 2010 pt. 2

2011, the year AFTER the Year We Make Contact

Happy new year to any of the random folks who might find stumble across this wee "gem" of a blog!

I don't know why I find it so hard to keep this thing updated. Even when I wasn't in grad school (which I'm not sure I even took the time to write up on here, now that I think about it... yeah, I'm really committed to this. Straight A's first semester, btw), I just could never really be arsed to type in all the thoughts racing through my head--I mean, it's not like I don't have anything to say... I'm just lazy :D

However, I started this blog not because I ever gave a shit about blathering on about my spectacular existence, but because I wanted to share music, and maybe even comment on it. So in 2011, I am going to try and steer back toward that original intent and bring back the music.

To wit, I present my Notable To Me In 2010 Mix. For the sake of the one or possibly two people who have made it this far (clearly bent on seeing it through to the point of possible OCD, maybe check into that?)--I hope I don't run out of steam halfway through, and sincerely apologize in advance for both it and/or unmet expectations regarding quality of comments or selected tunes. FYI--I'm going in a rough chronological order, not ranked in any way.

1. Who Makes Your Money - Spoon
In January this was one of my jams, loved the whole album. But when I went to make this list a year later I realized that I hadn't switched this one into the playlist for a while.

2. Shelter - The XX
Saw these guys open for Hot Chip in April at The Riviera, fantastic. So great when the support act is also someone you like, made the show twice as good as I expected. This album has a great atmosphere, instant buzzword: noirish.

3. Keep It Goin' Louder - Major Lazer
A friend tweeted about this band so I checked them out--retro 90s big techno beats-style, but you can't deny it, even if you don't dance.

4. One Life Stand - Hot Chip
One of my favorite bands from the 2000s, Hot Chip delivers the wit, the melodies, the energy and the fun on every album. This title track from their most recent release is pure hot Chip goodness.

5. Sara Smile - The Bird and the Bee
The easy pop sounds of B&B made Fucking Girlfriend one of my favorites songs of all time, so checking out their tribute album of Hall and Oats classics was a no-brainer. If you like this tune, you will need this version.

6. Let's Dance (live) - Ween
This cover is from the show I saw at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on June 25 (happy birthday, mom!) this year. The sound quality is not fabulous, but the performance itself was stellar.

7. White Dove - Levon Helm
My friend took me to see Levon Helm and his band at Ravinia this summer. I was vaguely familiar with him, but I was never a huge The Band fan. Boy, was I missing out all these years! a 14-pc band blew my mind, and the tracks on Electric Dirt are a good jumping off point. Country tinges make it just that little bit sweeter.

8. Alyo - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Can't even remember how I found these guys, but the down and dirty brass is the hotness.

9. Me and the Devil - Gil Scott-Heron
Good to see GSH back in action. He's still got it, I was worried that his album would sound out of touch but it is, instead, a very well crafted integration of his trademark style with modern sensibilities.

10. When Your Mind's Made Up - Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová
From the soundtrack of Once, the Irish film about a busker who falls in love with a flower girl and the album they record. magic film, brilliant soundtrack.

11. Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) - Janelle Monáe
My girlfriend's sister turned me onto this lady. Interesting melange of hip-hop/soul styles with a classical flavor.

12. Kids - Sleigh Bells
You can hear M.I.A.'s production all over this shit, but it doesn't matter because it brings the serious nod AND rocks out at the same time :D

13. Come On Over (Turn Me On) - Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan
Saw these two at Lincoln Hall in September. She's from Belle and Sebastian, and he's from Screaming Trees--what? It's true! Their music is low, slow and sultry; sometimes melancholy and fragile, sometimes heating up. Check out all their albums if you like twee blues.

OK, that's the halfway point so I'll call it Part 1 and leave you hanging.

Notable To Me In 2010 pt. 1

I promise

--my real life is not nearly as lonely as it is around this joint!

I guess I'm 40, then

I am soooooooooo lazy when it comes to this blog. That's part of the reason I never started on before, and despite the main reason for even having THIS one was to share music with everyone*... I havenae posted anything in ages. Hell, I even started out lazy by just posting links to a few old 8track mixes I made months ago. This blog is FAIL.

On that note, however, I suppose I should somehow mark the passage of a major milestone, that of turning 40. Notice I wrote "40" and not "forty." Because "40" is much more visceral, really putting it out there as more than just an age, but as a mathematical point of reference and calculation. "Forty"... that's the way a person in denial would write it. And that's it for the overuse of quotation marks in this post, too.

Well, achieving the ripe old age of 40 doesnae feel much different from living as 36, 37, 38 or 39. It actually feels remarkably similar to turning 30, albeit without the looks of pity/sympathy the announcement generally draws. Ironically, or maybe fortunately, I am able to look upon this year as a genuine milestone; I am in a relationship that with any luck will go the distance, one that I am both relishing and terrified of my willingness to risk everything and dive into; and I am starting grad school, an action which signifies my first acknowledgment that I may have some inkling of what I'd like to do when I grow up (which is to be a librarian, apparently).

I hope I make it back to update this blog before my NEXT milestone.

here comes 40

Just over a week now before the Big 4-0. That's "four-oh". I am giddy with anticipation.

My Frend Joe

I've got some good friends named Sharon and Greg. We've all known each other for almost 15 years now, so when they decided to start a family, I thoroughly approved. They're both very intelligent, funny and caring people--Greg is an artist/professor, and Sharon is a graphic designer/elementary school teacher--pretty good place to start from, eh? Seeing as how i don't have any kids, I like to live vicariously through my friends'.

When they decided to adopt three at-risk kids who'd been bounced around foster homes for most of their young lives, I admired my friends even more, and couldn't wait to meet these kids who had made such an impression and changed their lives so much. Christopher, Brian and Jarvis are three of the brightest little guys I've ever known... their smiles will blow you away, so bright and honest--it restores your faith in humanity. When I went up to stay with them for a couple of days to catch up and work on some art projects, the boys and I had plenty of quality time looking at comic books, playing superheroes, you know--all the cool stuff you get to do in summer when you're a free-wheelin' little kid.

I know it sounds corny and sentimental, but I really do believe that it's important to try and make good impressions on kids when they're in that crucial development stage, and to encourage them to think and expand their horizons.  I also think it's important to listen to them, instead of just telling them what to do and where to sit, play, etc.--and when the kids are as bright and full of energy as my friends' are, well... it's the easiest thing in the world to do. We had a great visit.

Apparently, I made more of an impression on Brian than I realized. This is a story he wrote, and it was passed along to my friends at their parent-teacher conference. He wrote it for a class assignment; the topic was to write about his summer, and this is what he came up with :D When my buddy gave me a copy of it, I was speechless--and so proud of the wee guy, I wanted to share it.

Gotta hand it to him, he's got a promising future as a caricaturist!

oops! or: hello face, it's been a while

A musician friend from my days in Scotland posted something about being in Chicago on her Facebook page the other day. I quickly fired off a message--if she was in town, we HAD to grab a drink or something! Turns out she is now in a group called Geese, supporting Imogen Heap at the Riviera tonight, and was gracious enough to put myself and my girlfriend on the guestlist.

Well I haven't seen Emma for at least a couple of years, probably a little bit more than that; naturally, I wanted to look my best (or as best as possible with what I've got left to work with at this point, haha) so I figured I'd better trim up my beard. Now, for those of you not familiar with my current "look" (which is NOT represented in my wee profile pic), I have worn a beard--neatly trimmed--and mustache, an upgrade from the goatee I sported for the previous decade or so, for the past couple of years.

Grabbing the trimmer, I tucked in under my chin and carved a swath up my neck... what the hell?! Yep... a big, ragged-looking shaved patch had suddenly appeared smack dab in the middle of my nicely kept beard. I'd forgotten to put the guard back on, and was basically using it as a shaver instead. "It's not THAT bad," I rationalized after a couple minutes' close inspection in the mirror. "Maybe I can fix it, blend it in..."

First attempt: click the trimmer down to setting #1 and see what happens. Not much, turns out. Still looked patchy from too many angles. "Ok, maybe I can try and shave my chin, leaving some sort of 'ragtime porkchops' or something..." Ummm, no.

Looks like my baby face would be making its first appearance in several years.

badge music

If you're a regular reader, you may remember a post I did a few months ago about my wee side business making badges. If you're just joining the fun here at Quake's Crib, a quick catch-up: I make and sell custom and vintage badges, in various sizes and product formats (for examples, check out my Etsy shop: http://badgesbyquake.etsy.com ). Here and there I'll do some badges for bands, and if I like their music i'll write a quick blurb about them. Such is the case with local Chicago rockers Saint Aviator.

I met Michael Main, the man behind SA, as the drummer for another band I do badges for, Tiny Magnets. I dropped off some one night at a gig where he was pulling double duty; I sat down for Tiny Magnets, but I stuck around a bit for SA. Good thing--their bass heavy, low-end rock sound was a nice capper to the evening, and when Michael threw a couple of tracks my way, I didn't say no. Keep an eye out, you might just want some power dischordia in your own head sometime soon.

baby steps

Ok, here it is, FINALLY--my very first effort as MC Quake, the immortal "1200 sq ft of Jarvis". Officially released as Picket Fence Series #B02, this 30-minute EP marked the first time I had created anything on my own and put it out for public consumption. Now, tens of copies later, here it is, resurrected and put forth for your listening pleasure.

Please excuse the shambolic, lo-fi nature; I was working with what little gear I had, and I am generally pleased with the results. Lots of sampling and looping on this one, including my first attempt at "turning the tables" on my old friend King Creosote (sampling him from old audio cassette letters we'd traded over the years, as he had done to me, in effect responsible for my own birth as MC Quake) and dropping him over an old school hip-hop loop.

One of the best things about this wee album is that precisely because I didn't have much of a clue as to what I was doing, I tended to be more meticulous and find workarounds to achieve the effects/styles I wanted, as opposed to later projects where I grew lazier and used more shortcuts as I became more familiar with how to use all the tools I had. For example, my favorite track (and still one of my finest moments, in my opinion) "the new bushisms". I tried really hard to cut and paste Bush's words as seamlessly as possible, and reconstruct his sentiments into what I felt was a bit closer to the reality of the political climate as well as load it with as much irony as I possibly could, haha. That one actually was used on another anti-Bush compilation at one point, but I've pretty much lost track of it now. And of course, what seemed to be at the time (and to some extent, really was) an important statement, now hardly seems relevant. That's the problem with a lot of my music; it has short legs because its subject matter tended to be tied to current events/politics. Gotta write more love songs, yo!

The worst track is the poem, "made it". Although it foreshadows some good stuff down the line, it's a crap poem, really, and I should have left it off. The underlying track is a bit more interesting, though, as I created it using samples of native american flutes run backwards. Definitely gives it an atmospheric, spooky feel which I like. I should lift it and use it for something else...

Also want to give a shout out to my friend Alex, a.k.a. M I S F I T--if you're out there somewhere reading this, get in touch, man! Lots to talk about since the last time I saw you.

MC Quake - Picket Fence #B02 "1200 sq ft of Jarvis"

p.s. the title refers to my flat in Chicago at the time, a HUGE place of 1200sqft, on the corner of Greenview and Jarvis. and although my address was officially listed as being on Greenview... "1200 sq ft of Greenview" just didn't sound as good, you know?

p.p.s. the cover art is original artwork done by my friend and partner in art crimes, Greg Porcaro. he would also go on to design the cover art for my next Picket Fence release, "Precisely 24 Hours After"

gettin' busy (or at least going through the motions)

ummm... yeah.

not doing a very good job at keeping this blog going on a regular basis, hunh? even with the exciting prospect of knowing that danmcdan, my only fan (hey, it rhymes cuz I'm skilled sometimes... yeaah. anyway...) might actually read this (thus ensuring that my efforts are not in vain, and only slightly less masturbatory)!

instead of wasting two hours fucking around on Facebook and Yelp tonight, I *probably* should have zipped up one of those requested Picket Fences and uploaded it for your later downloading pleasure. but instead, I'll take the lazy way out and simply link to an online mix I posted a few days ago dedicated to the glorious act of getting naked and humping someone you like.

enjoy!

baby makin' music

it coulda been a contender

I finally got a couple of comments on a post, encouraging me to post up more of my own music from the early Fence era (coincidentally my only "era" to date), so I dug in the crates and came up with this wee gem: Geography Is The Most Important Meal Of The Day.

The album is a collaboration with Jonnie Common, the genius behind Scottish indie faves and fellow Fence stalwarts DownTheTinySteps. The idea grew out of my admiration for one of their songs on their first Picket Fence release called "Don't Cut Your Hair." I liked the song and wanted to do a remix of it. When I asked Jonnie if he was up for it, and to send me the master tracks to play around with, he ended up re-recording the song with an MC Quake-specific verse and suggested we not just stop with one track, but collaborate on an entire album. What a great idea! So we sent each other a collection of bits and pieces of stuff, went to work on our respective sides of the pond and produced the tracks that you find here. Jonnie took our efforts and ordered them, even drew some quite lovely album art (which I have around here somewhere...) and... VOILA!

The aim was to release Geography as part of a future Picket Fence series, but alas that was not meant to be. Instead, it got a VERY tiny release (Jonnie sold his copies for five quid, I think; I basically gave all my copies away to friends)--if you have one of the original CDR copies of this, consider yourself lucky, my friend :D

MC Quake & Jonnie Common - Geography Is The Most Important Meal Of The Day

*can't seem to locate the original front cover art, the pic on the left was one of my early suggestions that didn't make it. the inside tracklisting is nice though, eh?

Spotlight on Scotland

ok, I read a Facebook comment on a friend's status from this guy named David DeRosa, who--instead of mimosas--makes a drink he calls a DeRosa. The trick is to use grapefruit juice instead of orange juice with the champagne, apparently. This got me thinking about an excellent album from a fantastic Scottish band called De Rosa. Alas, I'm pretty sure the band is no more, but they certainly did make some fine music when they were together.

So in honor of both De Rosa's, here's a little new year's love.

De Rosa - Mend