Bird & Whale

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 ?

Brightest Solids Release

brad — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:07:20 +0000

Hey friends. Excited to announce that the Lobisomem EP that I recorded is getting released this Tuesday, February 23, 2010 on Tall Corn Music. There’s been a little bit of rigmarole getting it out into the world as there often is with this sort of thing, but please pick up a copy for you and your loved ones. I know that a healthy majority of those of you who are reading this already have a copy of my EP, but please consider spreading the word to friends and foes. It would really help me afford my rent if some folks purchased this bad boy.

You can download one of the tracks from XLR8R:
http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2010/02/plasma-lovers

And also hear another song here.
http://www.birdandwhale.com/2010/02/17/dhegiha-group/

You can pick it up (Vinyl or CD) directly from Tall Corn via mail order here:
http://www.lobis-omem.com/

or you can get it digitally from iTunes from here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/brightest-solids-ep/id355635040

or Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Brightest-Solids-EP/dp/B00383VN2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1266340219&sr=8-1

I’ll update this page as it starts to get into record stores and various other digital stores.

If by some miracle of God you are a record store owner and are interested in carrying the Brightest Solids – EP, please get in touch with gmkenny@tallcornmusic.com.

All Up in Your Frame

brad — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:25:50 +0000

Ok, let’s do this. First things first. Rich Hush has put together another doozy of a mix under the handle Lil Hermano. I love it when a mix is able to cover so much musical terrain and make it seem so effortless. I think the trick is there’s got to be a congruency that the listener can follow. It could be a thread of melody, a rhythm, a lyric, or a host of other things, but if done well it can make all the difference. Makes me feel like there’s purpose in this existence of ours. I should also mention that this mix makes me pretty damn happy which is really just about all you can ask for.

Next up, I’m delighted to report that I got a write up about my forthcoming Lobisomem release, Brightest Solids – EP, on XLR8R.com. I’m a huge fan of that website/magazine so it’s rad that they gave the EP a little shout out. Please take a listen to track, vote for it, and pick up the EP.
http://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2010/02/plasma-lovers

I posted a new video. It’s for my track “Dhegiha Group” which is also on the Brightest Solids – EP. Check it!

Ok, that covers the big stuff.

Lil Hermano – All Up in Your Frame:

Van Dyke Parks – Occapella
The Ethiopians – Engine 54
Jay Dilla – The Red (instrumental)
Byetone – Plastic Star
Karen Dalton – Everytime I Think of Freedom
Michael Hurley – Sweedeedee
Dock Boggs – Cuba
Zito Righi e Seu Conjunto – Bye Bye
The Beatles – You Know My Name
João Donato – Terremoto
Bill Wells Trio – Bad Plumbing
Thes One – Hidden Gem
East of Underground – Smiling Faces Sometimes
Phyllis Dillon – Make Me Yours
Dobby Dobson – Loving Pauper
Jóhann Jóhannsson – Virðulegu Forsetar – Part 1

Dhegiha Group

brad — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:05:33 +0000

I made a video in celebration of the release of my Lobisomem Brightest Solids – EP. It will be released on Tall Corn Music on February 23rd, 2010.
The name of the track is “Dhegiha Group”.
I made the video by stringing together 2,513 photographs I took with my digital camera. The video was shot in one continuous take.

I was gonna post the HD flash video directly on Bird & Whale, but it was buggin’ out. If you wanna download or watch a super high quality version, you can grab it here. It’s a 116 MB M4V file. If you don’t know what a M4V file is or you have a slow internet connection, I’d suggest clicking the play button the Vimeo screen below and watch it there.

Hope you enjoy it.

Lobisomem – Dhegiha Group from Brad Loving on Vimeo.

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.