mix tapes

Great Moments In Mixtape Transitions

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All this mixtape monkey nonsense has got me thinking about, well, mixtapes.

I am gradually sliding into putting the Green Monkey Music Project mixes into heavy rotation. Honestly, I don’t necessarily have the whole mix listened to as soon as it’s published — it takes me a while. Don’t be surprised if a couple weeks after the mix has been made, I say to you, “Wow, I really like that fourth song on your mix selection!”

Anyways, I was taking the Speed It Up mix for a test drive. I was struck by how much I enjoyed the transition between two songs selected by Tim. The exit from Pixies’ “Planet of Sound” into the Police’s “Deathwish” was really aesthetically pleasing. “Planet of Sound” is a really in-your-face song. It abruptly ends, and is immediately followed by a nice, laid-back drum intro by Stewart Copeland in “Deathwish”. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain exactly what makes a transition from one song to another work, it just works.

There is an art to crafting a mixtape. The overall flow of mood is a more obvious component of a satisfying mix. I find getting really potent transitions between individual songs as a more elusive art. Sure, you can have a good transition, but a great transition is something that doesn’t occur that often. I’d say that normally a mixtape won’t even have a great transition — it’s that rare.

I remember a mixtape I made in high school, that went from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair” into Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side”. A few months later, I was in the car with a friend of mine who was playing his own mixtape. My friend had used the exact same transition. I took that appropriation of my song order has the highest compliment (he had heard my mix before).

I was wondering about you folks in the business of making mixtapes, have you ever had a great transition, and if so, what was it?

meme

Seven Facts About Kid Splotchy

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Freida Bee recently tapped me to provide seven facts about myself.

I think I did this one a while back, so I’ll put a spin on it, and give you seven facts from my childhood.

  1. I have collected things all my life. The first thing I ever collected was scraps of metal I would find on the street. I actually found some pretty neat things. I imagine I still have them stored in an old bank check box somewhere.

  2. My favorite color was pink, before I learned it was a girlie color.

  3. I was a big Gilligan’s Isle junky.

  4. I had horrible Saturday morning cartoons in my hometown of Springfield, Illinois. I get a twinge of envy whenever someone who grew up in the Chicago area mentions all the great kids’ shows they had available to them.

  5. I really enjoyed playing tackle football with my friends. I was nicknamed “Csonk”, after Miami Dolphins running back Larry Csonka.

  6. A defining awful moment of my youth – there was a couple who lived in a house in my neighborhood. The man who lived in the house had Down’s Syndrome. I remember seeing several kids taunt him, screaming terrible things. I don’t think I did anything at all. I just stood there, though I felt I should have said or done something, anything. I always carry that memory with me in the back of my mind. I don’t know how the experience has affected my subsequent behavior or attitude in a particular way, but it definitely did something to me. That memory is somehow a part of me (though I suppose *all* memories are a part of us).

  7. A defining wonderful moment of my youth – One summer I did some sort of extracurricular type of thing in the summer. I remember I didn’t get to do what I had originally asked for. I ended up taking a photography course. It was the first time I was in a group of individuals whose mission was to do something creative. It made me really happy, and I loved doing the photographic assignments. Each one was a little adventure.

word fun

Concluding Your Correspondence

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When ending a letter or an email, you may find it pleasing to add a nice little flourish that lets the reader know they have reached the end of your writing.

I myself am sometimes inclined to end a blog post with some sort of signoff.

Seeing as you can only use “Best Regards” or “Sincerely” so many times before people start thinking you aren’t that sincere, or really aren’t sending them your truly best regards, I thought I’d give you some options to break up the correspondence-concluding monotony.

01. I Like Gravy,
02. Someday I Hope To See You Naked,
03. Smell My Finger,
04. I Still Haven’t Forgotten About That Ten Dollars You Borrowed From Me,
05. In Prison,
06. Happy As Possible With All Things Considered,
07. Boogers,
08. Catch Baseball Fever,
09. May God Not Smite You Down,
10. Jerry,

Best Regards,

Splotchy

a peek into the exciting life of splotchy, life's little slices

It’s All Barbeque, Idn’t It

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I have been going to a restaurant that’s walking distance from my place of employment for a few months. It’s notable in that the restaurant’s name has three words, all of which have accent marks.

They have a BBQ pork sandwich w/ fries special on Tuesdays that I like to order. The restaurant also has Mexican food, Greek food, cheeseburgers, etc. It’s a hodgepodge of cuisines.

So as I walk up to the restaurant today, I see a chalkboard sign on the sidewalk in front of the place. It says BBQ pork, but above it, written in large letters is the word “KOREAN”.

Hmm.

I walk in. There are Korean gentlemen behind the counter and wandering about. I sit down and look at the menu. BBQ pork is still a special.

I ask the waiter, what kind of pork is the special? He says it’s Korean BBQ pork. Hot and spicy, but not too spicy.

What the hell. I order the special, and soon am eating a spicy pile of BBQ pork and white rice.

One of the gentlemen told me the restaurant changed hands on October 1st.

Does this kind of thing happen that often? And how odd is the fact that despite the change in the menu, I could still get BBQ pork as a special?

The new owner made sure my coworker and I knew about the upcoming buffet and karaoke this Friday. If they have some Sabbath on the jukebox, I might just go.

gmmp

Green Monkey Mix Volume 8 Accepting Participants

39 Comments


Hey everyone! My name is Chris and I host Some Guy’s Blog. As a three-time participant in the Green Monkey Music Project, Splotchy has generously allowed me to invade his blog and select the next mix theme.

Well, after giving it some thought, I have come up with something that reflects my love of travel and exploration. I hereby announce the “Geography Pop Quiz” Mix. The titles of all songs must contain a specific geographical reference: either a continent, country, state, city, or street. It can be a place you’ve been or a place you hope to see someday or a place you never want to go. It’ll be our own little musical travelogue.

My songs will be last and I guess I’ll take on the first six people who express interest. How about 5-7 songs each? Sound good?

Oh, and before I wrap this up, how about a round of applause for our host, Splotchy? He’s going to round up all these songs and make them all available, free of charge to you – the reader. That’s pretty damn cool.

OK, who’s in?

iSplotchy, politics

iSplotchy Firmware Upgrade Gives More Functionality To Consumers

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Note: This post has been guest-written by Steve Jobs.

Hello!

To those proud new owners of the iSplotchy, who have made the commitment to joining the technology revolution in earnest, I congratulate you!

To those yet to make the leap, I am proud to announce a recent firmware upgrade that will soon be available on this site, providing ever-expanding functionality to an already spectacular product.

I routinely ping the gadget-savvy community, visit message boards, and scan the Usenet archives for ways I can improve upon this product.

Three requests continually appear in my ongoing investigations:

1. Food

People who love technology also love food. Food is what keeps us going. But a problem arises — how can we have a home-cooked meal on-the-go?

With the latest firmware upgrade, we have programmed the iSplotchy with nanofrying receptors that can convert solar energy into localized temperatures hot enough to cook food.

The iSplotchy, in direct sun on a cloudless summer day, is hot enough to fry eggs.

2. Games

The loud clamor of gamers echoed through the iSplotchy forums, and now this “Marco” has been effectively “Poloed”.

Those getting the new upgrade will find the iSplotchy capable of roughly approximating the experience of many classic arcade games, from Pacman, to Ms. Pacman, to Donkey Kong III (Galaga scheduled for 2012).

iJoysticks and iScreen available separately

3. Romance

Ah, the human condition. We all long for love. For companionship. For MAGIC.

The iSplotchy’s core nanotechnology has expanded to fully engage the appetites of the discerning adult.

For his and her “pleasure”

*****

As you can see, there is no time like the present to jump on the iSplotchy train.

Lastly, and I really do apologize for bringing this up — there have been unfounded criticisms leveled at the iSplotchy, the like of which you can find here.

I will not sit idly by as less-than-scrupulous individuals tarnish the image of this amazing product.

While the iSplotchy is the pinnacle in consumer gadgetry, there will always be people that attempt to “hack” into whatever technology they can get their grubby little hands on.

The situation described in the scurrilous post above is evidence of a failed hack into the iSplotchy. When the iSplotchy senses an attempted hack, it will be “rubbled” useless to prevent the hacker from using the iSplotchy for unsavory purposes.

As it rubbles, it also notifies the manufacturer of the nature of the attempted hack. The report on this particular iSplotchy indicates that its owner, Doctor Monkey Von Monkerstein, attempted to do the following with the product:

1. Gold coin creation
2. Penis enlargement
3. Monkey desmellification

This kind of hackery will not be tolerated. The fact that Dr. Monkerstein is currently running a fruitless candidacy for the 2008 Presidency makes this affront even more serious.

How can you stop this kind of inside-the-beltway shenanigans? Vote for the iSplotchy in 2008.

two buck schmuck

Harry Potter And The One Hundred Thirty Eight Minutes

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I got in a little early to LaGrange tonight. I headed up to Walgreen’s, walked up the seasonal aisle to trigger all the cheesy motion-sensor Halloween decorations, then picked up some plain M&M’s.

There being no school tomorrow due to Columbus Day, there were gangs of giggling teens out and about. On my walk to the theater, I witnessed a LaGrange cop use his car’s loudspeaker to tell some teens to pick up some garbage. I realize you may worry about my safety as I venture into this cutthroat neighborhood of ice cream establishments and clothing boutiques, but I assure you safety is my number one priority. I walk with my hand on a cellphone in my pocket, with the numbers “9” and “1” pre-entered.

It was another embarrassment of riches at the LaGrange Theater tonight. Here were my options:

The Brothers Solomon
I really like the director Bob Odenkirk from his Mr. Show days, and I really like writer/star Will Forte on SNL, but the reviews for this film weren’t very positive, and I find that seeing an unfunny comedy, particularly one from people I respect, kinda puts me in a funky mood.

Ratatouille
I’m actually kinda excited about seeing this second outing from Brad Bird and Pixar, starring one of my favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt. Unfortunately, I watched The Incredibles with the kids earlier the same day. I feared that if I saw two Brad Bird movies so close together, I would somehow will his corporeal form into my life, which would then start haranguing myself and my family for not being compelling enough.

The Simpsons Movie
I saw this already and would like to see it again, but I guess not tonight.

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix — Ooh, a fantasy movie, with Halloween approaching. Let’s go!

This movie actually favorably compares to the other Harry Potter movies. I strongly disliked the first two, directed by Christopher Columbus (wow, two distinct and unrelated references to Christopher Columbus in one post!). He has directed many cheesy kind-of-okay movies in his long career, including a childhood semi-favorite of mine, Goonies. Where was the Cyndi Lauper title song for these first two Potter movies? Where?

The third Potter film was (and still is) the best of the bunch, directed by the magnificent Alfonso Cuarón.

The fourth was craptastic.

The biggest enemy of all the Harry Potter movies (as well as the later Harry Potter books) is long-windedness. They just go for too damned long. Order of the Phoenix was made well enough, but it just went on and on and on.

I agree with all the other movie reviewers that Imelda Staunton was great as Dolores Umbridge. She could have shown a little cleavage, though. I don’t really mean that, but I feel like I have to make my review stand out in some way.

Helena Bonham Carter was sufficiently wacko as Bellatrix Lestrange, but she could have showed a little more cleavage. I didn’t mean that either.

Lastly, I liked Natalia Tena as Nymphadora Tonks. Women with pink hair are cute! I don’t have anything to say about her cleavage. I don’t want a pink-haired girl miffed at me.

So, despite the godforsaken length of this film, what else can I bitch about? Hmmm. I actually enjoyed the climatic battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death-Eaters, as well as the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore. I had disliked the look of Voldemort in Goblet Of Fire, but it didn’t bother me so much in this film.

There was the occasional clunky dialogue, where plot points had to be conveyed quickly and succinctly in order for a non-reader of the book to have a clue as to what the hell was going on. I realize that for the most part this kinda crap is probably a necessity when you are condensing a meandering, overlong novel into an overlong film.

The few supernatural creatures in this movie looked kinda cheesy, whether it was Sirius Black’s house-elf Kreacher, Hagrid’s half-brother Grawp, or a group of pissed-off centaurs in a forest.

Especially regarding the centaurs, who not only were rendered kind of poorly, but they didn’t look remotely like they are supposed to, as clearly indicated by the cover to the original Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual.

I mean come on, people, do you need a D&D dork like me telling you how centaurs, trolls, owlbears and whatever-the-hell-that-upside-down octopus-looking-thing-is are supposed to look?

Uncategorized

Congratulations, Bubs!

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It’s not official, but Bubs (or the timing chip in his shoe) just passed the finish line in the 2007 LaSalle Chicago Marathon.

05:08:31 (net) @ Finish (unofficial). Pace 11:46. By The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon

Congratulations, Bubs (or Bubs’ shoe)!

gmmp

Presenting the Speed It Up Mix!

12 Comments

Volume 7 of the Green Monkey Music Project has been completed, and is available for download!

If the participants of this mix want to discuss their own selections, please feel free to do so! I’ll put a pointer on this post if you end up posting about it on your own blog (or you could always just add comments here, I suppose).

==========================
SPEED IT UP!
==========================

Rules And Theme Details

The Participants Discuss Their Selections:
Splotchy!
Beckeye!
Johnny Yen!
Barbara!
Tim!
Tenacious S!

The Songs:

Get the mix in chunks!

Zipfile of Songs 01-08 (All of Splotchy’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 09-16 (All of Beckeye’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 17-24 (All of Johnny Yen’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 25-32 (All of Barbara’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 33-40 (All of Tim’s songs)
Zipfile of Songs 41-47 (All of Tenacious S’ songs)

No thanks, I’ll just pick at the songs!

01 – Antony and the Johnsons – Divine [splotchy]
02 – U.S. Maple – Open A Rose [splotchy]
03 – James Brown – It’s A New Day [splotchy]
04 – The Feelies – The High Road [splotchy]
05 – The Wedding Present – It’s A Gas [splotchy]
06 – The Ramones – Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment [splotchy]
07 – Hüsker Dü – Divide And Conquer [splotchy]
08 – The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms [splotchy]
09 – Elvis Costello – I Want You [beckeye]
10 – Pearl Jam – Come Back [beckeye]
11 – Ryan Adams – Halloweenhead [beckeye]
12 – Guided by Voices – Twilight Campfighter [beckeye]
13 – The Bottle Rockets – Nancy Sinatra [beckeye]
14 – Edwin Starr – 25 Miles [beckeye]
15 – Squeeze – Misadventure [beckeye]
16 – Flogging Molly – Seven Deadly Sins [beckeye]
17 – Fairport Convention – Who Knows Where the Time Goes [johnnyyen]
18 – Jack Johnson – Flake [johnnyyen]
19 – Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers – Pablo Picasso [johnnyyen]
20 – Joni Mitchell – Free Man In Paris [johnnyyen]
21 – Elvis Presley – That’s All Right Mama [johnnyyen]
22 – The Clash – Brand New Cadillac [johnnyyen]
23 – Motörhead – Ace of Spades [johnnyyen]
24 – The Dead Kennedys – Religious Vomit [johnnyyen]
25 – The Constantines – Saint You [barbara]
26 – AC Newman – Drink to Me Then Babe [barbara]
27 – Wood Pigeon – Chorus of Wolves [barbara]
28 – Cuff the Duke – Belgium or Peru [barbara]
29 – Tegan and Sara – Speak Slow [barbara]
30 – The B-52’s – Private Idaho [barbara]
31 – Tokyo Police Club – Cheer It On [barbara]
32 – Stiff Little Fingers – Suspect Device [barbara]
33 – Cocteau Twins – Multifoiled [timdrussell]
34 – Radiohead – A Reminder [timdrussell]
35 – My Bloody Valentine – Emptiness Inside [timdrussell]
36 – Yo La Tengo – One PM Again [timdrussell]
37 – Pixies – Planet of Sound [timdrussell]
38 – The Police – Deathwish [timdrussell]
39 – The Cure – Why Can’t I Be You? [timdrussell]
40 – Beastie Boys – Nervous Assistant [timdrussell]
41 – Radiohead – Pyramid Song [tenaciouss]
42 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Spread Your Love [tenaciouss]
43 – Joy Division – Failures [tenaciouss]
44 – Jazz Butcher – Grooving in the Bus Lane [tenaciouss]
45 – The Methadones – Turning Inside Out [tenaciouss]
46 – Voodoo Glow Skulls – Nicotine Fit [tenaciouss]
47 – Ministry – TV II [tenaciouss]

Tim said it would be cool to provide an alternative order, from all slowest selections grouped together, to the fastest.

Here ya go, Tim! — Alterate playlist file (compatible with Winamp and Windows Media Player)

It is my great honor to award a Green Monkey Master Badge to Barbara! This is her third time participating in GMMP, which now makes her a Green Monkey Master.

Congratulations, Barbara!

jung vf fcybgpul?