letsjustbefriends.org

the selby

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:56:00 GMT

Oh…I get it. It's THE Selby. Kinda like THE ryan king or THE real nick jones (both of whom lived on the same floor w/ me in the dorms in college).

I don't know much about this guy, but i really don't care because his stuff is badass. And that's it.

21 Linkbait Suggestions For Your Design Blog

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:33:00 GMT

Ugh, there's too much stupid stuff on the internet. Believe me we're tired of it just as much as you are.

Not that we're trying to revolutionize anything, but we've got some ideas for remedies.

Until we get those going, here's a video we made. K bye.

Ghost Hunting w/ Jonathan

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:31:00 GMT

So, since gas is so expensive, I've been trying to work from home whenever I can. Something happened today that prompted me to take some pictures, but I've got to give you some back story:

First, ask almost anyone who lives in central OKC (especially the Paseo) and most of them will tell you they've seen/heard/felt something paranormal in their house. I'm very skeptical about that stuff, although highly intrigued. And I've lived in my fair share of "haunted" houses and could tell stories for hours about stuff I've heard (but never seen).

So, I'm told by psychic friends (psychic people I know, not the hotline, LOLZ) that there is a lot of activity in my house. I've heard noises, stories about ghosts walking up and down the stairs, shadows in the kitchen, light bulbs burning out frequently…I even hear strange noises from time to time.

So, walking through the dining room, I heard a short "sssss" noise. Not a hissing, just like someone was talking but you could only hear the "s" in the word. Kinda like a "psst" without the "p" or "t." Curious, I decided to get my camera, set it up on a tripod and shoot back toward the corner where I had a strange experience a couple nights ago.

And what do you know, something showed up. It's on the wall behind the monitor in some of those pictures, if you don't see it readily.

If you ask me (specifically in image #5), it looks like a refraction of the duck that's sitting on the window mixed with the red in the lamp and the cloth in the room divider my roommate has in front of her door. Could be a lens malfunction or strange angle, but I'm intrigued by the fact that it looks like it's being projected onto the wall.

Just so you know, I only resized these to put them in the same image…I've got the originals with exif data and everything if that's ever called into question….like anyone's going to grill me about it.

Now, I'm not saying "Hey! I've got ghosts! Here's proof!" But I'm definitely intrigued. What do you think?

Sunday Mixtape v.2

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:34:00 GMT

From the Christian music underground (mostly):

1. Brand New – Sowing Season – I know it's not really "underground" Christian music….but it's in the mix. Suck it. I've never really liked Brand New until Dean was playing their most recent album at Sauced one day. I still don't like their old stuff. Favorite line: "I'm not your friend. I'm just a man who knows how to feel."

2. Lovedrug – Radiology – Matt Puttman (Unwed Sailor / Eso-Charis / Living Sacrifice) doesn't play with them anymore. They aren't very good anymore either….coincidence?

3. LN – Tuscany – Man, this takes me back to high school. Actually, I can say that for most of the rest of this mixtape. Bet you didn't think you'd hear "I can smoke cigarettes all day" on something released on a Christian label.

4. Roadside Monument – Sunken Anchor – Man…..Jonathon Ford. Cool guy, makes some damn fine music (Unwed Sailor is on most of the mixtapes I make). The more I go back and listen to Roadside Monument, the more I regret not being able to go to the last show they played in Tulsa a few years ago (with Pedro The Lion & Ester Drang….fail)

5. Duraluxe – Dura-Lux – Did you know these guys are still around? True. This was on the Starball Contribution that Flying Tart put out in the 90s….and Zachary Gresham (Joe Christmas / Summer Hymns) sings? WIN

6. mewithoutyou – Seven Sisters – I'm glad these guys are making music…It took me a while to warm up to them, but they're legit, dude.

7. Denison Witmer – 24 Turned 25 – My absolute favorite song of his. Man, this guy is also pretty cool. He's the reason I bought a baritone guitar

8. Starflyer 59 – Somewhere When Your Heart Glowed The Hope – I don't know where I would be if I had never heard Starflyer. The Gold album probably influenced me both musically and personally more than any music has before or since. Everything is so simple, melancholy and gorgeous. I love it.

9. Steamboat – Anatole – There's a story around here somewhere….maybe I'll tell you one day. Long story short, I did the site for the label these guys were on (the Red Crown Record Empire….RIP) and ended up meeting Joey Parish (played drums on this record. Also played with Lewis & Ester Drang) randomly at this camp where I used to work when he was playing with Chris Tomlin. I think he's still playing drums with Shane & Shane. Dude is legit.

10. Pony Express – Together We're Electric – OK, this is turning into a mixtape of people who have made me want to do things like music other fun projects. Jeff Cloud is a badass. (citation)

11. Poor Old Lu – For The Love Of My Country – I can remember listening to this song when we moved into this sweet split-level rental house in North Carolina in the autumn of 1995. My room had orange shag carpet. I bought my first laptop a couple months later and it was all over.

12. Tess Wiley – Idle – She wasn't really in Sixpence None The Richer…she just toured with them for a while. She also played w/ Velour 100 and has a few albums I need to track down. This is another one of my most favorite songs…I can't tell you how good it makes me feel. Suck it.

There's other stuff that I'd like to include (Delta Haymax, Lewis, The Julies, Blenderhead, My Hotel Year, Ran Away To Sea, Luxury, uh….early Plankeye? and some Joy Electric Remixes? Lance Alton Hemmingway?) but that's all on my iPod and I'm too lazy to get it off there….maybe next week.

LJBF Sunday Mixtape v.1

Sun, 25 May 2008 22:08:00 GMT

Early 2008 releases, FTW

1. Why – Simeon's Dilemma (from Alopecia) I reviewed this album a while back. It's still a good one, even though I'm kinda wearing it out. I just can't stop.

2. Unwed Sailor – Little Wars (from Little Wars) Man, "Little Wars" is solid. Great beats, great riffs…probably the best record Unwed Sailor has ever done.

3. Russian Circles – Verses (from Station) This is the oddball from "Stations." The rest of the record is pretty heavy, but still beautiful. Man….these guys.

4. Callupsie – For Ben (from Callupsie) If you have the "Sugar & Liquor" EP, (or live in Tulsa) you've probably heard this song more than a few times. It's one of their better ones (although the whole album is pretty solid). You should probably look at the video Aaron did for the EP version of this song.

5. This Will Destroy You – Threads (from This Will Destroy You) I've played this for quite a few people are now in love with it. Pretty inspiring/hopeful despite the dark-sounding name.

6. Death Cab For Cutie – Bixby Canyon Bridge (from Narrow Stairs) Death Cab has not released a really solid album since they left Barsuk and stopped hanging out with John Vanderslice. Having said that, there are some pretty good songs on the new record…as long as you're not expecting Death Cab.

(photo: This Will Destroy You – Andrew Weiss)

God Went Surfing With The Devil (and all i got was this stupid t-shirt)

Sat, 24 May 2008 20:00:00 GMT

"Just got back from a weekend in Gaza. Everything was going great until we got arrested by Hamas."

I was looking at an image bookmarking web site the other day and kept seeing these really sweet pictures of guys surfing and hanging out with people…and they were all from this site.

So, these guys are shooting a documentary about life in Gaza and Israel and this site is (at the moment) a (mostly-photographic) record of their travels.

And these pics are good, man. Really, really, good.

Zach Klein: best hair on the internet

Wed, 07 May 2008 05:57:00 GMT

I've been getting sucked into his world ever since I was telling my friend yesterday about this picture that Keegan made.

Now, even though I'm listening to the new Russian Circles record (which I'll get to writing about in a day or so), I can still hear some people saying "who the hell is Zach Klein?"

Well he's, like, the co-founder of this company (and this is the other one) and on top of that, he seems like an all-around cool guy.

I mean, not that I've met him, but (cool hair and creepy self-portraits aside) I feel we have a lot in common:

-He has pretty good taste in music (which he's happy to share with you)

-Looking at his blog, one can gather he has pretty good taste in general

-He even does a cooking show. (I know, I haven't started my cooking show yet, but it's coming…I've got recipes and everything)

-He lives in Williamsburg…..and I get called a hipster all the time. (that is a bit of a stretch, even though it's true)

I mean, there's more, but I've got some food to cook and I need to get back to making fun of people. There are only so many hours in a day and I need to start maximizing my time…or nothing will ever get done around here.

Trailer Trash, v.1

Sat, 03 May 2008 02:00:00 GMT

I'm waiting for my buddy Jake to show up and record some music, so I'm going to tell you about something.

For a while I've been wanting to restore and eventually live in an old Airstream trailer. The most common reaction I get whenever telling someone about this long-held dream of mine is "Eww. Trailers are so trashy."

Then I have to explain that it's going to be less like something you'd see at the fair and more like something you'd see in, well, one of those hipster-friendly modern design magazines.

And the more time I spend scouring the internet for resources and inspiration for such an undertaking, I find a glut of the former and depressing void of the latter. So, being the do-it-yourself kind of guy that I am, I decided that I'm going to start posting more things related to Airstream renovation and thrifty, taste-conscious, nomadic lifestyles.

I mean, I'm not doing it right now or anything (Jake just got here), but you should definitely know it's coming. Here are some more pics I got from Apartment Therapy:

Overheard in OK

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:04:00 GMT

If you're like me, you enjoy things like Overheard in New York.

Well this weekend (which is probably one of the best in a while) I've heard a few things that cracked me up…..and wouldn't you know, I wrote them down:

Unnamed Friend: "I hate Stewart, man. He's too friggin short."

Friend at wedding: "Yeah they were fun to hang out with and all, but they had really bad weed."

Unnamed Short Friend: "Tall people are idiots."

Drunk girl at a party to some random guy: "Do you want to come home with me?"

Drunk guy on cell phone, shouting, at the same party: "Man, save me some acid so I can trip with you next weekend."

Guy with a really sweet mustache: "If I make it to 65, I'm getting this mustache tattooed on my face."

And I even had one of my own:

Snotty trophy wife at Arts Festival (to her husband): "Ugh…who the hell rides their bike to an arts festival?"

Me (riding by on my bike): "I do."

Why? – Alopecia

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:41:00 GMT

"What?" is probably a more accurate description of my reaction when I first heard this record.

Now, I listen to a lot of music, so it doesn't blow my mind nearly as often as it used to. Fortunately, though, these guys have heard a lot of music, too. And they've got some damn good taste.

Don't ask me how to describe the sound….I'd end up saying something like "yeah dude, it's like a cross between Ugly Duckling and The Mountain Goats."

Uh, it's, like, hip hop with elements of jazz, western, tons of "indie pop" sensibility. [seriously? I should be fired from writing music reviews….why am I even trying to describe it….go listen for yourself.]

And the wordplay….my gosh. This guy is good…intelligent….articulate:

"Even though I haven't seen you in years, yours is the funeral I'd fly to from anywhere."

"This goes out to dirty dancing cursing back-masking, backslidden pastors' kids."

"Don't pretend you didn't see me coming round the bend on my fixie with the chopped horns turned in trailing behind your biodiesel Benz. Stalker's my whole style and if I get caught I'll deny, deny, deny."

Damn.

So…….gorgeous melodies, chill/hip/eclectic beats, intelligent song structures, strange-but-somehow-it-works vocal quality, clever things to say [I mean, you won't appreciated it if you're easily offended], perfectly-blended mix of more styles than I can count…..yeah it's good.

It's records like this that make me become more and more of an Anticon fanboy. Seriously, they have released quite the range of music over the years [The Notwist, Alias, 13 & God, Dosh, Odd Nosdam]….and it's all good stuff. Man…these guys.