Skinemax from Smash TV on Vimeo.

Gorilla Versus Bear – August 2011 Mixtape

Fucking brilliant photo illustration from Stephen Kelleher for his recent mix on Since78. Fun and powerful and layers of meaning. Like this painting All Is Vanity from 1892, but cute and graphic.

Love.

My good friend Brian Gossett asked me to do a monthly mix for his amazing mixtape blog Since78. The Victory Lap is all about going fast and great for cycling or snowboarding or whatever it is you do that gives you that feeling of speed you love.

But more than that its about that feeling of accomplishment you have when you are successful. That want to just speed ahead, happily. To raise your fist in triumph. This makes sense in terms of cycling or athletics but it applies to almost anyone.

For success. To winning. Full speed ahead.

I’m putting the finishing touches today on the long-delayed Sad Jams / Gone Songs zine I started about one year ago (or probably a bit more actually) and I’ve realized that when you ask 10 of your friends to make art and contribute songs what you wind up with is a 52 page book. Whoops.

I’ll probably have to be more creative with the binding than a simple staple. Maybe two small books packaged together?

It will be out soon surely. I promise you and I’m SERIOUS this time. haha.

Details forthcoming.

Rest in Peace.

Download it now. Via MassanSF.

So Mr Will Bryant has recently dropped a massive stack of amazing music over on the Since78 mixtape blog. And between all the new music over there and all the other things I come across to ingest… well it takes me a while to get certain things into the rotation. But the above tape has this last week made a DEEP GROOVE… Heavily rotating. I mean daily. Thanks Will. Fucking great songs on here.

(I’m essentially trying to apologize for not having listened through the 3 other tapes he’s posted on the blog which I imagine are equally fabulous)

Download it right right right now. Transparency  by White Denim, Crystal Stilts by the Crystal Stilts, Johnny Thunder by The Kinks and my absolute favorite off the tape Beautiful/Very Smart by Harlem.

I’ve been looking for someone like you /
You look cool and I like your walk /

*BONUS* there’s also a  Harlem cover of Goodbye Horses creeping someplace on the internet. Give google a spin and I bet you find it in a handful of clicks.

So, had a peek over at Brian’s since78 mixtape blog the other day and he’s got William Bryant guest contributing a mix which of course leads me to his site where I find where I find this: Hallowzine. Pretty frickin’ great stuff here. Cutesy gore and monsters and the like. I think I may just have to purchase.

I’d been thinking about doing a Horror themed book and tape for some time for Break Your Tapedeck, but since Sad Jams are still wrapping up (out end of this month I PROMISE YOU) I’ve only made some small notes about it…

soon soon soon soon soon.

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Oh and download Will’s Deadbeat Nostalgia mixtape and check out Public School. Keeping Austin cool. Good work sir.

Photo by Dave Potes. More here.

Another source of inspiration for photography of mine is the San Francisco based Hamburger Eyes. They publish a magazine of photographs and also operate a dark room in the city. They also have a hard cover book out as of 2007.

Check out this recent post on their blog about photography and the future of photobooks:

Notice the decline in big publishers, yet the massive birth of brand new small publishers in this year alone. At one time print on demand services were a sketchy idea, now it’s pretty normal.

They talk a bit about photographers getting rid of blogs and flickr account in favor of publishing which I’m not sure I agree with (keep in mind I’m only a hobbyist photographer, maybe its different if photography is you vocation). I just find so many amazing things and photographers and things via blogs and flickr. I suppose they’re just saying that’s nice, but if you want to be serious, you need to be published. I do fully subscribe to the diy ethic of just making stuff and putting it out and the power of the printed page in the world of digital media. Make your own books. Shoot your own photos. Just like Hamburger eyes.

I’m also listening to this Heartbroken mixtape. Man, photos, zines and mixtapes. The good life.

More previews from my never ending and always on hold upcoming zine SAD JAMS / GONE SONGS. This one was pretty much just a joke combining a few of the ideas I’d discussed with my good friend dlew about his submission. With all his reluctance and angst about the project I just took these unrelated shots of his dog and comped up a little piece that might actually make its way into the book.

I quite like it. Next month I swear I’ll get this thing out.