Bird & Whale » Jonathan Summey

Last Summer Mixes

brad — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:15:31 +0000

Ok people.
Another thesis for you guys to take in. This one is by Sumjay. It’s thematic vanishing point is “Summer”. Three volumes of light, breezy jams by young men in tight shirts. Hell yeah!

In Brooklyn news, I’m playing a show at Zebulon tomorrow night (Oct. 28th, 2010). It’s in tandem to On View – A Visual Arts Showcase which is an evening of “visual art and community”. (Both good things, right?!) The work of four local visual artists: Ying Ang, Jane Renaud, RJ Mickelson, and Katie Stern will be on display. Two slide shows and two films.
Also thanks so much to Anique Halliday for mentioning Lobisomem in the literature for the evening.
In addition to my live set, I’m also going to DJ after-hours. It should be a nice evening. Please come by.
http://www.onviewbrooklyn.com/

My trip to Chicago was a blast. So good to see so many friends. Thanks so much to everybody that came by Rodan.

Likewise, lots of friends in town here for the WFMU Record Fair and CMJ. Super fun to hang with everybody and introduce old friends to new ones. A lot of people have promised mixes for Bird & Whale. Hopefully some of them will come through on that front.

Seems like everybody else is busy makin’ babies.

Bird & Whale Watching in Brooklyn Vol.2

brad — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:31:24 +0000

Sumjay has raised his glass a second time to Bird & Whale. Really nice of him to spread the word. This mix has a healthy amount of hazy psychedelic rock and folk. A lot of it American and British I reckon. Sumjay recorded this live at the Middle East in Boston. He didn’t include a playlist so I thought it might be fun see if we can figure out the tracks on our own. See if Bird & Whale’s two-point-O functionality can lead to any answers. If you know any of the tunes please post it into the comments, and I’ll add them to playlist. If we get em all, I’ll try and post a zip file with the individual mp3s.

Things are kind of insane around here. Some things are kinda perfect and others are a mess. I’ve met all these beautiful people and seen all these beautiful things. They inspire me. I feel alive. But I have a crazy amount stress, and I feel like most everybody I meet has as much as me. So it’s a pretty paradoxical existence. Sometimes I feel like I’m a minor character in this crazy play that is my life. I just marvel at all that’s going on around me and occasionally make little asides to people that I think might listen. Another little observation about this NYC theater is that there are a lot more extras. I feel like I interact with about 30 new strangers everyday. Once upon time it was rare I’d get a call from a number on my cell that wasn’t in my contacts. Now, I’d say about a third the calls are from zip codes I don’t recognize.

There’s been a lot of cool things going on with the release of my Brightest Solids – EP. Seems like people are into it, so that’s been fun. If you haven’t picked up a copy, please do so. I’m 24 carat broke so it’d be rad if you bought a copy.
Along the theme of picking things up, I’d recommend reading Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson. I’ve told a couple people it’s kinda like reading Jack Kerouac if he did a whole lot more drugs. Beautiful language and insight into some very bleak situations. Maybe a little like Larry Clark’s Tulsa.
Bird and Whale got a nice shout out from Filthy Beats and Treats so I thought I’d return the favor and encourage people to check out what he’s got going on. Definitely a nice collection of musical knowledge.

Sumjay – Bird & Whale Watching in Brooklyn Vol.2:

1. 0:00 – 3:19 ?

2. 3:20 – 5:18 ?

3. 5:19 – 8:10 Rattles – The Witch

4. 8:11 – 10:53 ?

5. 10:54 – 11:12 ?

6. 11:13 – 14:35 Lou Reed – Walk and Talk it

7. 14:36 – 17:26 Echo and the Bunnymen – Read it in Books

8. 17:27 – 18:59 ?

9. 19:00 – 27:45 ?

10. 27:46 – 35:13 ? – Heroin (V.U. Cover)

11. 35:14 – 39:45 Triangle – Ruido de Botas

12. 39:46 – 41:12 Bonnie Dobson – Streets of London

13. 41:13 – 43:34 ?

14. 43:35 – 49:20 산울림 – 내마음에 주단을 깔고

15. 49:21 – 50:50 ?

16. 50:51 – 56:31 ?

17. 56:32 – 60:02 Monks – I Hate You

18. 60:03 – 62:55 Pink Floyd – Ibiza Bar

19. 62:56 – 71:10 Can – Spray

20. 71:11 – 73:37 Rene Schuumans – Blij Dat Ik Leef

21. 73:38 – 78:18 ?

Doodles, Blue-Red Vol.1

brad — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:44:15 +0000

What’s up family? How’s everybody doing? Things are good ’round these parts.
Happy to report I got mix by a new contender — new to Bird & Whale, that is. Welcome Sumjay! Seems like good things are in store. The first half of the mix is nice run of smoky African stones. Sumjay has kept it smart here and definitely thrown together some stuff from off the radar. The second half of the mix is a little more eclectic… funk, soul, etc. If you like what you hear here, please bounce over to http://web.mac.com/sumj/ where he posts mixes periodically (and gave a very nice shout out to B&W!). Sorry no playlist for this one. It was recorded late night at the Middle East in Boston.

Starting a 9 to 5 job on Monday. This is very good news as I’m broke as a joke. Looking forward to falling into a little bit of a daily routine and not stressing about money quite so much.

I’m Djing in support of Givers, Helado Negro, Mike V at Union Pool tomorrow night. Swing by if you get a chance. A few more details here.